Luka Doncic’s True Feelings on Deandre Ayton Signing Leaked

The Los Angeles Lakers came into the offseason with a massive need at center, and they were able to find one. The best part? They didn’t have to make a trade to get one.

The Lakers signed veteran center Deandre Ayton to a two-year contract after he was surprisingly bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Ayton was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and was selected just two slots before Lakers guard Luka Doncic.

The two will now be teammates this season. Doncic hasn’t been shy about wanting a competent big man to play with so he can feed them the ball. The team tried to get him Mark Williams last season, but that trade fell through. He’ll now get to play with Ayton instead, which is something Doncic is happy with, per Dan Woike and David Aldridge of The Athletic.

“Ayton was a surprise addition to this year’s free agency class, negotiating a contract buyout with the Trail Blazers on Sunday night and surrendering a reported $10 million of a $34 million deal,” Woike and Aldridge wrote. “Ayton and Dončić are both represented Bill Duffy, the longtime agent who heads WME Basketball.

“Dončić, according to league sources, is excited about the opportunity to play with Ayton.”

Lakers Were Also Considering Brook Lopez

The Lakers were leaving no stone unturned when it came to finding a center this offseason. There are some concerns with Ayton’s attitude, but he’s young, athletic and productive. Getting a player like him without making a trade is a good move for Los Angeles.

Before he was available, the Lakers were also considering a reunion with a veteran center, per The Athletic.

“The Lakers, according to team and league sources, showed serious interest in veteran center Brook Lopez, who agreed to a two-year deal with the LA Clippers on Monday,” Woike and Aldridge wrote. “He was pegged by many around the NBA as the logical player for the Lakers this free agency cycle. Lopez, 37, is still one of the NBA’s best inside-outside centers but doesn’t play the kind of pick-and-roll, lob-threat style that Dončić has had the most success with in his career.”

Lopez is still a very good player, but he’s getting close to 40. Ayton is a potential building block for the team going forward.

Ayton Had Issues in Portland

One thing that would’ve been nice about adding a player like Lopez over Ayton is that there would be no concern about character issues. Ayton hasn’t gotten into any legal trouble of note, but he did become a headache for the Trail Blazers, which is why he was released.

According to The Athletic’s Jason Quick, the former No. 1 pick had major attitude issues in Portland.

“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.”