Deandre Ayton is heading to the Lakers, joining Doncic, LeBron
· EurohoopsLuka Doncic is reportedly excited to join forces with 25-year-old Deandre Ayton at the Los Angeles Lakers
By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Deandre Ayton has agreed to sign a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers as an unrestricted free agent.
ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania revealed the deal on Wednesday. The former top draft pick will earn 34 million dollars for the 2025-26 season, with a player option for the second year of his contract.
With the Lakers eager to find a center before the 2025-26 Regular Season, to strengthen their championship bid amid rumors about connected concerns of LeBron James, the search settled at the 26-year-old center, recently released by the Portland Trail Blazers, after reaching a contract buyout agreement.
Back in 2018, Ayton was the first overall pick of the NBA draft, ahead of third-placed Luka Doncic. Seven years later, he is set to join forces with the 26-year-old Slovenian combo guard, a few months forward of the latter’s blockbuster trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers. The Ljubljana native is indeed excited to partner with Ayton, as noted in a reaction to the Lakers roster upgrade by Dan Woike and David Aldridge of The Athletic.
The newcomer is a veteran of 443 NBA appearances over the last two years with the franchise based in Oregon and five previous seasons with the Phoenix Suns. In his 2024-25 journey, he tallied 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.8 steals per contest over 40 appearances, all starts.
Beyond the league based in North America, a native of Nassau, with a Nigerian father and Jamaican mother, represented the Bahamas in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Spain and the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2023 in Argentina, after debuting back in the Centrobasket Championship 2016.
Photo Credit: FIBA