July 6: Ayton has officially signed with the Lakers, the team announced in a press release.
“Acquiring a starting-caliber center was the top priority for us this offseason, and we believe Deandre is an amazing solution to that objective and is an ideal player to add to our current core,” president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “Deandre’s size, mobility and athleticism will allow both paint scoring and paint protection. Deandre’s playoff experience as a starter on an NBA Finals team also aligns well with our ultimate Lakers championship aspirations.”
July 2: After officially clearing waivers on Wednesday, center Deandre Ayton has agreed to sign with the Lakers as an unrestricted free agent, confirms Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Ayton’s new deal with the Lakers will cover two years and will be worth $16.6MM, with a second-year player option, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter links).
Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link) first reported that rival teams with interest in Ayton were expecting him to commit to the Lakers after he cleared waivers, while NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) also reported that the former No. 1 overall pick was on track to end up in Los Angeles.
Ayton, who agreed to give up $10MM of his $35.6MM salary in a buyout with Portland, will be signed into the remainder of the Lakers’ non-taxpayer mid-level exception following their deal with Jake LaRavia, tweets cap expert Yossi Gozlan. In total, between his Blazers and Lakers contracts, the big man will make about $34MM in 2025/26.
It’s a significant move for the Lakers, who had been on the hunt for a center since trading Anthony Davis to Dallas in the Luka Doncic trade in February. The club agreed in principle to acquire Mark Williams from the Hornets at February’s trade deadline, but nixed that deal a couple days later due to concerns about Williams’ physical.
The Lakers spent much of their first-round playoff series against Minnesota this spring playing without a traditional center on the floor and made it a top priority entering the summer to address that spot, scouring the trade market and free agency for viable options.
Ayton, who was selected two spots ahead of Doncic in the 2018 draft and shares an agent (Bill Duffy) with the Lakers star, has faced criticism over the years due to questions about his effort and focus. A report out of Portland following his release earlier this week indicated that he frustrated the Blazers by being late to team flights and practices, skipping injury rehab appointments, and throwing “tantrums” in the locker room when he was benched for poor effort.
However, it would have been virtually impossible for the Lakers to find a center in free agency who is more talented as a scorer and rebounder than Ayton. He has averaged at least 14.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in all seven of his NBA seasons and was the starting center for a Suns team that made the NBA Finals in 2021. He’s also still very much in his prime — he’ll turn 27 years old later this month.
The Pacers, who signed Ayton to a four-year, maximum-salary offer sheet in 2022 that was matched by Phoenix, were among the other teams said to have interest in him, but the Lakers were consistently cited as the frontrunner.
As a result of using their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, L.A. will be hard-capped at the first tax apron in 2025/26. They’re currently about $5.6MM below that threshold for 13 players, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
At least the lakers signed someone but now who plays center for Indy
Mainly Isaiah Jackson and Tony Bradley with Obi Toppin filling in as a small ball 5.
Who said this first ……. Pretty easy actually.
Was a big fan of Ayton. Now after all the BS. Don’t really care about him anymore. He is in a good place to rebuild his career. Lakers can actually be a tough out. If Ayton plays like an all star.
Thunder, Rockets, Nuggets are best teams right now .. then Minny, Grizz.
Everyone said it… Rockets LMAO
A Giant that can’t stop laughing. …. Yeah never stops ….. we taught you ball. Now I will teach you balling.
I’ll put Spurs and GS over Grizz at this point.
GS without a big is not top 4. Spurs are young and inexperienced. Not ready, Grizz have depth. Keep an eye on them.
Agree and boy oh boy is this early, lols. OKC, Houston, Nuggets, Wolves, Clippers, torn between Dallas and Memphis @ 6 and 7. With Warriors, Fakers, Spurs fighting for scraps.
Golden state is going to have a full season of butler and post does have potential as their center
They’ve got no better and older. Others have and are improving. Jimmy isn’t exactly always available or locked in. Goes through the motions from time to time. Can’t be playoff Jimmy in the regular season. Post? Good lord. Tall can shoot the 3 a bit and that’s it.
Post became less playable when it mattered. Minutes and production dropped. Got abused and found out on the defensive end big time. Kerr went Looney more. I thought Post looked Lost in the playoffs and only got court time due to roster construction or necessity.
Post was a rookie and Kerr was coaching from desperation.
How many rookies that only avgd 16.3 min/gm in the reg season have become more playable in the playoffs?
Kerr puts players in and immediately yanks them if they don’t make one of their 1st couple of shots. No wonder the team is inconsistent.
Griz have depth? They traded away Bane and Morant is injury prone. I like Ty Jerome but can he step up if pushed into the starting role? Is Jackson going to step up?
James Wisemans career rises from the grave, but he may be a sick phoenix
Achilles
Indy didn’t want a center.
Everyone will be over their center obsession by December
Phoenix has a plethora of centers. Take Nick Richards, please.
I think Mo Wagner would be a good fit. Chris Boucher also could work, and both would be better in Indy’s system than Ayton anyway.
Not a bad signing. He may not be the super athletic rim runner but he’s way better than their other options IF they can get him to buy into being in superb shape and his motor improves. Maybe he has some pride left and this will bring the best out of him but bring looked at as the main guy but still wanting to prove himself.
Chris Paul was able to motivate him. The best he played was those couple of years CP3 was in phoenix. Playing for a contract at that time didn’t hurt either.
Redick likes him, and he should be productive in PNR with Luka.
Greg Oden part deux
But less talented
And significantly more productive
Helps to be able to get on the court…
Lakers now look a big threat for next season.
Two guys known for being out of shape, and a 40 year old. I’m sure teams are quaking in their Nikes.
Let’s pretend like one of those “guys” and the 40y/o have never accomplished anything in this league. Almost like we don’t watch basketball
They haven’t in the past 5 years.
Apparently 5 time first team All NBA, finals run, conference run are nothing. LOL!!!
And zero championships.
LOL, you do realize there are 30 teams in the NBA, and only one champion each year, right? Not to mention the reason Dallas got Luka was cause they sucked and were a lottery team. Luka had a decent team around him for one year, and he took it to the finals. He has literally h been in the league for 6 years l, and just entering his prime.
Hate much!?
By that logic, only 15 people in the NBA ever accomplish anything each year. I swear, hoops fans can be the most reductive group around. Just regurgitate takes
Not quite there yet Imo, in the shadows possibly
Not even close. OKC, Spurs, Nuggets, and Rockets are your top 4 with T-wolves at the 5. lakers fall with Warriors, Clippers, and Mavs all fight for the 6th spot. Dark horse Pelicans and Grizzlies round out top 10 in the west. Suns, Blazers, and Kings could make a push. jazz is the only team no chance of making the playoffs without a miracle.
Spurs are not a top-4 team lol
they will be with all the young talent and getting rid of anchor CP3
Not this year … top 4 in West are experienced and deep. Spurs should have traded for Giannis. This way imo they are 2-3 yrs away from contention.
Adding teh #2 pick and a center makes them a lot more tougher to deal with.
As if the Spurs could have somehow forced a trade for Giannis?
Yup. Maybe in 3 years time😆
Spurs aren’t ready for anything but a play in spot.
IMO, the Spurs won’t make the playoffs this year, even though this same group could win a Championship 4 years from now. The West is too competitive. Spurs will break .500, but not by enough.
Young players make too many mistakes in their first 2-3 seasons. This year, expect the Spurs to play their young talent before their vets (with the exception of De’Aron Fox). Guys like Castle, Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant are going to make highlights, not wins.
Wemby will be an All-Star. Fox is a Top 10 PG. Kornet is a solid veteran, but the rest is a work in progress.
The Spurs?????
Here comes another L take from the expert of all teams, aristotle.
The Spurs has a better chance of making the playoffs or even at least the play in than aristotle making a W take.
Lakers will be top three team, and here is why. First, they were top three last year so not like going from 8th to 3. Second, Luka will gel with the team much better starting from the beginning of the season. Third, the team this year is better than last year.
They were 1 loss away from being a play in team last year. Many of the other teams got much better than the lakers.
lol.
Warriors wtf!? Now get DAME. Do something Dunleavy or leave!
Not sure if the Warriors would want Ayton tbh … they’ll probably get Horford. Jk’s trade might not come until the deadline due to the base salary compensation rules.
Horford would be a better fit for GS than Ayton IMO. He can switch 1-5 and hit the three.
I was thinking Portis would’ve been the target if Ayton hadn’t been bought out.
DAME is out for the season so why would they get him?
Dame will be lucky to be back this year. No reason to rush at his age. Don’t count on Dame this year.
What is Dame gunna do? What use is he? He’s 36 and just lost all his speed with a massively significant leg injury! He is likely cooked as an NBA player, its completely insane how everyone is acting like a freaking ACHILLES injury is no big deal!!! Why????
So who’s going to play defence? Better have a sniper in the rafters cause that’s the only way you’ll stop anyone from scoring
Bron gone this time next yr 100%.
Poeltl > Ayton
Better player, better contract.
My first instinct is to dump on Ayton but I’m glad he’s got a place to hoop and I hope he does well. LeBron has a nasty habit of teaching other players things to make them better and I hope he elevates his game.
Ayton ain’t no good.
LeBron hasn’t made anyone better since his first Cleveland stint.
Don’t worry Lebron will make him a 3pt shooter…
Ayton wants to be the guy, so he’ll either have to humble himself and accept he’s 4th banana right now or, more likely, will be even less motivated than he was in Portland where he was somewhat allowed to do his own thing in a dysfunctional offense. None of that is going to fly this time around given what the Lakers already have. He needs to be a rim runner and refuses to play like one.
But I agree this is his best and last hope. If LeBron can’t get him to change his stripes, no one can.
Nice move by the showtime!!!
How long before LeBron is sick of him playing no defense and rarely trying to be productive?
Easy called it.
Wow, you’re amazing. You “called it”. We’re so proud of you.
Take this energy and head over MLB trade rumors free agent prediction contest with it, you weirdo
Let the basketball terrorists (FKA lakers fans) rejoice!
Seriously though, Ayton is soft as they come. Won’t play with maximum effort, will piss off coaches with his conditioning. In other words he’s the perfect for LeBron and Luka 🙃
Should be F-IN HILARIOUS.
If Ayton wants to ever get another decent contract he has to be on his best behavior, and play well. He can rehab his reputation next ti Luka like Kyrie did with the Mavs!
It’s a contract year lol ……
Good signing but now they need a starting center
Now the Lakers can sign a minimun contract to Marvin Bagley the third and they’ll have the three first pick of the 2018 draft. It will be so funny…
Better figure it out soon otherwise he might be the first NBA player to play in the Mexican Basketball League, not even good for overseas X
link to google.com
Ayton is young enough. Talented enough to turn his career around. He is on a good team he can help be better. I’ll never understand the negativity that lives for players you don’t even know. I wouldn’t want him on my team. So why should I care what he does for another team. Thats not a basketball fan to me. By his game and position alone. He is perfect for LA. Why expect a car crash. Instead of just letting it happen. He’s not on your team is all you should care about.
All the info about him. Is he’s a prima donna. Basically can’t handle new money. Poor guy.
Whether he fails or succeeds. Means nothing in my life. So as a basketball fan. I hope he grows up and helps his team. Let’s face it they need him.
I would like this move a lot more if they added Harford as well
Don’t know if Lakers can. But I would sign Grimes.
No cap space and they already used their mid level on Both Ayton and Laravia
Sixers would match, they would be wasting their time. TBH I don’t expect him to get an offer outside of the best deal he can get from us. I doubt it’s the 22-25 he wants but likely higher than the 13-14 per I would offer over 3-4 years…it’s likely in the 16-18 range to increase the potential return we could get in a trade later on…but he could surprise me and gamble on himself by taking the QO which wouldn’t be great for us…but if he does get any offers in the 20-25 range I would expect us to match it, even if he is not in our long term plans….he’s a semi valuable commodity that would be about our only hope to improve our roster. We ain’t letting him walk
Right now he’s on QO right. Like 8.5 mill is what I read. So no one offers him more. He is a Sixers for a year. And they have all year to sign him. With VJ there. They don’t need him past this year.
Don’t know who has cap space. He is worth Schroder money.
Yeah but it would be nice to have 10-13 or 16-18 mil in matching salary’s in a trade, then if we can combine Drum or KO for another 5 and/or 8 we could potentially find a player or 2…of course if Joel and PG are useless again then it really doesn’t matter what else we do anyway lol. Grimes on the QO kind of limits the return we can get for him even with added assets
how long will LeBron be able to defend three opponents by himself every game ?
What? How long until LeBron gets burnt and starts blaming others for not guarding his man as well you mean?
What? You mean how long do LeBrons team mates bite their lip when LBJ gets burnt or gets lost when guarding nobody while pointing the finger at others.
Fun fact. Ayton will be the 12th former no.1 pick LBJ has ever played with if you include Duncan and Iverson at the Olympics. Obviously at different stages of their career but it’s still wild.
This guy has played with more current or x all stars than any man to ever play the game. Yet, according to the Paul/LBJ LeMedia Bron needs more help and MJ had better help, lols. Like the times Bron kept leading a bunch of scrubs to the finals. Including Kyrie and Love who were perennial all stars. Korver and Thompson made an all star appearance with Smith being a former 6th man of the year.
Not a big LeBron guy but you’re delusional if you think those Cavs teams, particularly the 2018 team, would still be good without him.
I mean, they needed a C, so why not Ayton. Buyer be warned though, teams don’t generally cut 14 and 11 guys unless there are issues.
My bad, my post was for Alstott.
40.7M expiring and a couple FRPs to use at the deadline. Enough ammo to get a Herb Jones, Marcus Smart, Thybulle, Keon Ellis, Highsmith, someone of that ilk defensively to add to the roster for the playoffs.
Ayton is a below the rim 7’1 center who is supposedly 27 but looks going-on-40. Guarantee he barely does anything for LA.
The more bigs that go off the board, the more I think GSW will trade for Giannis.
Not unless they get a rebounding/rim-protecting big, it looks to be a very long season for the WARRIORS ……. most of the WEST got bigger, better.
Jimmy got his bag, he’ll be coasting the rest of the way now.
I wonder how LeBron will help his career….
Come on Dunleavy! Wake tf up!
Don’t worry Lebron will make him a 3pt shooter…
Dude is a head case. What a desperate move….