NBA World Reacts to Lakers' Bold New Deandre Ayton Signing

NBA World Reacts to Lakers’ Bold New Deandre Ayton Signing originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Los Angeles Lakers have found their 2025-26 starting center at last.

And it’s a familiar face for L.A.’s best player.

Following a brief offseason flirtation, former No. 1 overall draft pick Deandre Ayton is signing a free agent contract with the Lakers, sources inform ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Ayton, 26, was selected ahead of current five-time All-NBA First Team Los Angeles guard Luka Doncic in the 2018 draft out of Arizona. Doncic and Ayton also share an agent.

The 7-footer proved to be a valuable starter on the Suns during their run to the 2021 NBA Finals, although he did struggle defensively in that series, a six-game loss, against the Milwaukee Bucks’ powerful frontcourt.

Rumored clashes with head coach Monty Williams led to his eventual exit from the franchise. He put up good numbers with the Portland Trail Blazers but wore out his welcome there too.

Across just 40 healthy games last year, Ayton averaged a career-low 14.4 points on 56.6% shooting from the floor and 66.7% shooting from the foul line, along with 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks for the 36-46 Trail Blazers.

A source informs Jake Fischer of The Stein Line that Ayton is inking a two-year, $16.6 million deal, with an $8.1 million starting salary for next season.

He’ll have a player option for 2026-27, so presumably if he performs well in a winning environment, he could enter free agency and earn something closer to the $34 million contract he had been slated to earn prior to his Portland buyout.

The NBA world is decidedly mixed about the move.

Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2)© Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Dustin Dopirak, the Indiana Pacers’ beat reporter for The Indianapolis Star, reflected on the deal in relation to Indiana, which suddenly is without a starting center for next season following the defection of Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks.

“And another one off the board,” Dopirak writes. “Did seem like he was heading the Lakers way from the second he was waived. In spite of the previous offer sheet signing, not sure he would’ve been a good fit with the Pacers, but he’s a talented player and that’s one fewer option at center.”

Noa Dalzell, a Boston Celtics reporter for Celtics On CLNS, is decidedly uninterested in Ayton’s upside in a winning environment at this point in his career.

“I’m not falling for this Ayton propaganda,” Dalzell writes, in a pointed jab at Charania’s positive spin of Ayton’s postseason shooting efficacy.

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor believes that, though flawed, Ayton is a better free agent center fit for Luka Doncic than the other big remaining free agent big man still available, Boston Celtics power forward/center Al Horford.

“Hard to trust Deandre Ayton,” O’Connor notes. “Brings flakey effort and focus. Maybe the Lakers keep him in line, but no one’s been able to so far. Still, by far the best option on the market and they get him for cheap, so he’s easily worth the upside if you get a good stretch out of him.”

Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian observes that Ayton has burned through several coaches and co-stars already during his stints with the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers, and wonders if Doncic’s colleague LeBron James can become something of an Ayton whisperer.

“Can LeBron James get out of Deandre Ayton what [Devin] Booker, [Kevin] Durant and [Blazers head coach Chauncey] Billups couldn’t?” Fentress wonders.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.

NBA World Reacts to Lakers’ Bold New Deandre Ayton Signing

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