Deandre Ayton to sign contract with Los Angeles Lakers
Deandre Ayton has agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Ayton will earn $34 million next year, and the contract is for two years with a player option.
This comes after the Portland Trail Blazers waived Deandre Ayton on Monday. Charania says the $34 million Ayton will earn will be from the Lakers and Trail Blazers.
Ayton was with Portland for the last two seasons. Last year, the former Arizona star played in just 40 games and averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and one block while shooting 56.6 percent from the floor. In 2023-24, Ayton averaged 16.7, 11.1 rebounds, one block and shot 57 percent from the floor in 55 games.
The Phoenix Suns selected Ayton at No. 1 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. He made the All-Rookie First Team after averaging 16.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and one block in 71 games. He spent five seasons with the Suns before he was traded to Portland.
Why the Trail Blazers waived Deandre Ayton
On Monday, the Trail Blazers and Deandre Ayton reached a buyout before placing him on waivers. Following the move, Jason Quick of The Athletic explained why Portland made the move on Ayton.
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“See, the Blazers could live with Ayton missing shots or his man scoring on him. They could even live with him being limited by injuries to 55 and 40 games in his two seasons in Portland,” Quick wrote.
“But in the end, they couldn’t live with his bad ways. The tardiness to team flights and practices, according to a team source. The skipping of rehabilitation appointments. Fans saw him slam chairs when he was taken out of games. And a team source said there were tantrums in the locker room when he was sidelined for poor effort.”
Ayton looks to bounce back with a Lakers team that needed a big man to complement LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Last year, the Lakers finished the regular season with a 50-32 record, their first 50-win season since the 2019-20 season when they won the title. But the Lakers did not make a deep playoff run, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.