The Los Angeles Lakers signed double-double machine Deandre Ayton to a bargain deal, as the No. 1 overall pick agreed to a two-year, $16.6 million contract after securing a buyout from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Yet, there’s no certainty that Ayton will be the Lakers’ starting center for the long haul. The former No. 1 overall pick was widely criticized for not being a team player during his stints in Phoenix and Portland, which led to him becoming available as a free agent.
Suppose the Ayton experiment doesn’t work in Los Angeles, the Lakers may once again be left with a gaping hole at the center spot, a critical position in a Western Conference that boasts star bigs such as Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun and Chet Holmgren. As such, the Lakers may need to secure another quality big man as insurance for Ayton.
Sports Illustrated’s Thomas Carelli floated a Lakers trade idea that would see the team acquire Nic Claxton and a nice haul of draft assets.
Lakers would receive: Nic Claxton, 2027 1st Rd Pick, 2029 1st Rd Swap
Nets would receive: Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves
Prototypical Luka Doncic Center
Claxton would perfectly complement the skillset of Luka Doncic, who thrives with athletic rim-runners, much like he did with Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. The writer further argued that his Lakers trade idea will help shed a lot of salary.
“In this situation, the Lakers get to shed two bench/deeper pieces as they command less need with LeBron, Luka. Gabe Vincent and Austin Reaves have been common names being discussed in trades, so it surprises none in this scenario,” he wrote.
“As for adding Claxton, they get a key young frontcourt player at a potential discount, since the Nets want to deal him away. Nic Claxton can be a massive defensive weapon off the bench, as well as a great developmental piece undernearth Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton. On top of all of this, the Lakers get future draft picks that they will need once LeBron retires.”
‘Immature’ Ayton Can’t be Trusted
Shortly after the Lakers signed Ayton, several insiders suggested that the Trail Blazers were fed up with the Bahamian center and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
ESPN LA’s Jason Quick reported, “Deandre is really going to test the patience of the pros in the Lakers’ locker room. He’s immature. He thinks he’s better than he is.
“He’s kind of goofy. Some people think that’s fun and carefree, but the veterans in the Blazers’ locker room would often roll their eyes when he came blaring in, singing or saying nonsense,” via TalkBasket.net.
Elsewhere, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon spoke to a former Suns staffer who predicted Ayton would be a “disaster” in a Purple & Gold uniform.
“I talked to one former Phoenix staffer, one former Portland staffer. And the former Phoenix staffer is like, ‘This is not going to work. He’s going to do his little half roll thing, Luka’s going to get fed up with him. JJ Redick is going to get driven crazy. This is going to be a disaster.’
“The former Portland staffer was like, ‘Listen. Everything that went wrong in Portland, some of it was on Deandre, some of it was on the organization.’ His feeling, though, was Ayton is going to understand the situation here. He’s not a max player. He’s a guy who’s been dumped by two franchises.”
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