There is no issue that needs solving for the Los Angeles Lakers quite like the issue of the center position. It has, really, been an ongoing problem going back to their NBA bubble championship in 2020 when the tandem of JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard held down the spot. Since then, the Lakers have had a revolving door of disappointments in the middle. Last year’s Band-Aid solution–Deandre Ayton–wore out his welcome over the course of the season.
But Ayton was on a two-year contract with a player option for this season. The hope for the Lakers was that Ayton would opt out and land elsewhere in free agency but in the end, Ayton decided on Monday to pick up his option and keep his Lakers contract in place.
The question now, though, is whether Ayton will stay a Lakers center or be shipped off elsewhere. Ayton’s deal is not an albatross–$8.1 million for next season–but, again, the Lakers want to upgrade the spot and want to keep Jaxson Hayes as a reserve, so trading Ayton is the top option.
Lakers Have Sent Out Feelers on Deandre Ayton Trade
In fact, executives around the league say the Lakers have already sent out feelers about a potential Ayton trade. That’s only prudent, of course, but the difficult reality for the Lakers is that if there was enough demand around the league for Ayton, he would have opted out and tried his luck in free agency. He didn’t, because he had reason to fear that the interest (and thus the money) was not there.
But, at $8 million and coming off a year in which he averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, Ayton is not immovable. The issues with mental and defensive lapses persist, but Ayton can be a productive big man, especially in a reserve role.
Finding a taker might be tough, though. The Lakers don’t want to attach draft assets to Ayton just to move him, but they’d need to find a team that has someone LA would want back as well as a need for Ayton–Philadelphia as a backup to Joel Embiid, for example.
Atlanta would be a possibility if they feel Zuby Ejiofor needs development time, and the Magic are a team in need of center depth. More likely, Ayton will be part of a bigger trade package as in a potential deal for Cam Johnson of the Nuggets.
Center Upgrade a Necessity
Fact is, the Lakers can’t return next season with Ayton as their starting center. Star player Luka Doncic has made clear to the team that he wants a big man with more athleticism and defensive heft. the kind of big man that better suits Doncic’s skills.
Doncic has some power in the situation, because he can be a free agent in 2028 and can pressure the team by not signing an extension.
As one NBA executive told Heavy Sports recently, “They’re going to find a big man, I think that is their line in the sand. That’s probably the big change there, it’s the thing they’ve been talking about for the last few years, really.”
The exec left no doubt as to why: “Luka Doncic needs a big guy.”
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