BREAKING: “NBA” Lakers sign centre DeAndre AYTON.

Shortly after the centre cleared waivers and became an unrestricted free agency, Deandre Ayton and the Los Angeles Lakers reached an agreement Wednesday afternoon, according to many media outlets. Ayton gained notoriety recently when he and his most recent team, the Portland Trail Blazers, decided to negotiate a buyout and skip the last year of his contract, enabling him to enter free agency.

Ayton is expected to make $34 million this season between his new contract with Los Angeles and the money Portland owes him, according to ESPN reporting. Even though Ayton has played in 398 NBA games over his seven years as a professional, he is only 26 years old. He was born on July 23. Ayton was previously selected by the Phoenix Suns as the first overall choice in the 2018 NBA Draft. In 398 games during his career, he has averaged 16.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game (391 starts). Luka Doncic, a new teammate of the Lakers, was selected third overall in that same draft.

Though his participation in the Suns’ 2021 NBA Finals series loss to the Milwaukee Bucks was perhaps his greatest professional accomplishment, he was a member of the 2018–19 All Rookie first team. On September 27, 2023, All-Star guard Damian Lillard was traded from the Trail Blazers to the Bucks, and Portland obtained him as part of a three-team trade with Milwaukee and Phoenix. –Reuters/Field Level Media.