If there was ever a move that reeked of desperation, it is absolutely this one. The Los Angeles Lakers are projected to be the unfortunate winners of the DeAndre Ayton sweepstakes this offseason.
Marc Stein broke the news, saying, "Multiple interested teams expect Deandre Ayton to commit to the Lakers after he clears waivers today at 5 PM ET, league sources tell [Jake Fischer] and me."
From a pure talent standpoint, Ayton can be argued as the best that the Lakers could do in the 2025 free agency period. When taking the time to look past just that, there are so many reasons to be worried about this addition.
Insight into DeAndre Ayton buyout brings clarity to why Lakers are in trouble
It was puzzling to see Ayton become available in the first place. The former Portland Trail Blazers center was locked up on a large contract figure before the team decided they no longer wanted his services around.
It should be pretty telling that the Blazers kept adding members to the frontcourt rotation in Portland. There appeared to be a desire to not let Ayton be the long-term solution for their team. That ultimately proved to be true when they cut ties with him.
Perhaps no one truly realized how bad it was until Jason Quick of The Athletic dropped his eye-opening report following the buyout. The former Blazers big man was described in a way that was all but positive.
Quick wrote, "They couldn't live with his bad ways. The tardiness to team flights and practices. ... The skipping of rehabilitation appointments. Fans saw him slam chairs when he was taken out of games. ... There were tantrums in the locker room when he was sidelined for poor effort."
There should be a lot of concerns about bringing this type of personality into the Lakers locker room right off the bat. A major distraction is the last thing a team hoping to establish itself as a proper contender needs.
Granted, the Lakers are willing to run the gamble because of how bad their center position looks right now. Handling a problematic personality may have been deemed necessary in the gigantic shift the Lakers needed at the position.
It's pretty hard to compete in the NBA without viable center minutes. For all the lackluster plays Ayton can bring, the former first overall pick also brings more stability to the spot than Los Angeles previously had.
"Portland joins Phoenix as teams that have calculated that Ayton’s baggage isn’t worth his talent. And this week, as Ayton enters the free-agent market, there will likely be a third team that convinces itself it can either change, or live with, the Ayton experience. ... He has little self-awareness," Quick added.
The Lakers have embraced the role as that third team the writer described. For their sake, the hope would be JJ Redick can create an environment in which Ayton can finally turn a corner.