After a last-minute buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers, Deandre Ayton will join the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year, $16 million contract to bolster a barren center room, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. After trading Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic at the deadline last season, the Lakers had just one semi-reliable big man (Jaxson Hayes) on the roster.
The second year is a player option.
BREAKING: Deandre Ayton has agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN. Between Portland and L.A., Ayton will earn $34 million next season. Agents Nima Namakian of Innovate Sports and Bill Duffy of WME Sports reached the deal with Lakers president Rob Pelinka. pic.twitter.com/FUeNAkN19K
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2025
Ayton has spent the last two seasons posting average numbers on middling efficiency for a mostly uncompetitive Blazers team, recording 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game on 58.2 percent true shooting — a tick above league average. Even after leaving a Finals runner-up Phoenix Suns team, impact metrics view Ayton somewhat favorably. He’s ranked in the top half of the league by Estimated Plus-Minus across the last two seasons.
Grade: B
He’s an excellent paint scorer, shooting above 74 percent at the rim and 47 percent in the short midrange each of the past five seasons. While Ayton finishes efficiently around the hoop, his underwhelming explosiveness and unwillingness to create contact lead to staggeringly low free-throw rates, ranking in the 11th and second percentiles among centers in foul-drawing the last two seasons.
Effort and motor concerns dating back to his time in Phoenix will cast some doubt on his Lakers tenure. Despite a herculean frame and great touch, Ayton’s unwillingness to play physically and spotty defensive awareness limit his impact; his teams improved when he sat on the bench each of his last three seasons.
He’s not an ideal center fit with Doncic, who meshes best with defense-first bigs who protect the paint and thrive as pick-and-roll play-finishers. Ayton excels as a short-roll midrange shooter, but his lack of rim protection and lob threat might lead to some friction in lineups with Doncic.
Though his limitations as a defender, screener and passer might curtail his value on premier teams, the Lakers should and will take all of the front-court help they can get. Even with Doncic, LeBron James and strong complementary pieces on the perimeter, it’s incredibly challenging to win in the modern NBA with center play as weak as theirs last season, regardless of how those players fit alongside Los Angeles’ stars.
Ayton likely won’t provide anything more than solid starting center play at his peak but that would be a significant upgrade from what head coach JJ Redick had to work with last season. It’s a worthwhile swing for the Lakers, especially at this price point.
