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Deandre Ayton has agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers as an unrestricted free agent.
The agreement was disclosed by ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania on Wednesday. The former No. 1 pick will receive $34 million for the 2025-26 season, including a player option for the second year.
As the Lakers sought to secure a center ahead of the 2025-26 regular season amidst concerns surrounding LeBron James, they found a suitable candidate in the 26-year-old Ayton, who was recently released by the Portland Trail Blazers following a contract buyout.
In 2018, Ayton was selected first overall in the NBA draft, preceding Luka Doncic, who was picked third. Fast forward seven years, and Ayton is poised to team up with the 26-year-old Slovenian guard, who recently made headlines with a significant trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers. Doncic has expressed enthusiasm about joining forces with Ayton, as reported by Dan Woike and David Aldridge in The Athletic.
Ayton comes with substantial experience, having played 443 games in the NBA, including the last two seasons with the Oregon-based team and five seasons with the Phoenix Suns. During the 2024-25 season, he averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.8 steals per game, starting all 40 of his appearances.
Internationally, Ayton, who hails from Nassau and has a Nigerian father and Jamaican mother, has represented the Bahamas in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Spain and the 2023 FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Argentina. His international career began at the 2016 Centrobasket Championship.
Photo Credit: FIBA
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