The New York Knicks explored signing Deandre Ayton after the former No. 1 pick reached a buyout agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers, Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto reports.
The Knicks were one of the five teams that looked at Ayton before the 26-year-old center ultimately chose the Los Angeles Lakers in what could be the steal of the offseason.
“Deandre Ayton received exploratory interest from the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Milwaukee Bucks (before agreeing to a deal with Myles Turner) before joining the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote.
Why Knicks Miss Out on Deandre Ayton
Ayton chose the Lakers because of the opportunity to start and the basketball fit with Luka Doncic. They belong to the same draft class in 2018, with Ayton going No. 1 while Doncic getting selected at No. 3. They also share the same agent in Bill Duffy, the head of the basketball division of WME Sports.
“Ayton ultimately decided the Lakers were the best basketball fit and allowed him the opportunity to join forces with Luka Doncic, who’s the same age and considered the best playmaker in the NBA in Ayton’s eyes,” Scotto wrote. “Following success playing with guards such as Chris Paul and Ricky Rubio in Phoenix, Ayton hopes to recreate that playmaking chemistry with Doncic.”
The Knicks did not have the opportunity and money that the Lakers presented to Ayton to seal the deal. They already have All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns and defensive specialist Mitchell Robinson in the fold. They also only had the $5.7 million midlevel exception, which they ultimately used to sign free agent French forward Guerschon Yabusele to a two-year, $12 million deal, according to ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania.
Conflicting Reports of Deandre Ayton’s Time in Portland
Getty Center Deandre Ayton, formerly of the Portland Trail Blazers, reacts during a game.
According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks conducted a background check on Ayton, speaking with the Trail Blazers officials.
“Some decision makers viewed Ayton as a good fit next to Karl-Anthony Towns. Part of their background work included talking to the Trail Blazers about Ayton. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Blazers gave good feedback on Ayton to teams that called on him, which runs contrary to recent reports painting Ayton in a negative light. The Knicks received similar positive feedback from Portland about Ayton’s leadership with some of the younger Blazers,” Begley wrote.
After Ayton reached a buyout with the Trail Blazers, Portland-based reporter Jason Quick of The Athletic painted a different picture of the former No. 1 pick.
“See, the Blazers could live with Ayton missing shots or his man scoring on him,” Quick wrote. “They could even live with him being limited by injuries to 55 and 40 games in his two seasons in Portland.
“But in the end, they couldn’t live with his bad ways. The tardiness to team flights and practices, according to a team source. The skipping of rehabilitation appointments. Fans saw him slam chairs when he was taken out of games. And a team source said there were tantrums in the locker room when he was sidelined for poor effort.”
Ayton averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 56.6% last season in Portland. It would have been a major coup for the Knicks had they successfully brought him in to start alongside Towns in their frontcourt.
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