![\"Blazers](\"https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lakers-center-Deandre-Ayton.jpg?w=1200\")
<\/p>\nDeandre Ayton was officially announced as a Lakers player on Sunday, prompting some positive reactions from their passionate fanbase.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers had one urgent area of need to address this offseason and they managed to do so in a big way (pun intended).<\/p>\n
On Sunday, it was officially announced by the Lakers’ official account on X that they had brought in Deandre Ayton to be the team’s new starting center.<\/p>\n
Ayton agreed with his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers, on a buyout, paving the way for the Lakers to bring him in on a two-year, $16.6 million contract (with a player option for the second season).<\/p>\n
\u201cOFFICIAL: Welcome to the Purple & Gold, Deandre,\u201d the Lakers’ post reads.<\/em><\/p>\n Ayton has drawn mixed reviews from pundits and anonymous sources alike, but one thing’s for sure: his arrival allows the\u00a0Lakers to field a starting-caliber center\u00a0who averaged a double-double last season for such a cheap price. And Lakers fans, ever the loud bunch, celebrated the announcement of his addition on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cTo get a player like Ayton for what they gave him and he fits an exact need with our Playmakers, this was a great fit for the Lakers,\u201d X user @EmpireJeffTV\u00a0wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cAyton will feast! A solid 4th option with 2 god-tier playmakers not mentioning reaves ascend as a decent one. He just need to up his efforts and intensity. Hope he stays healthy,\u201d @5kyvzz22jf\u00a0furthered.<\/p>\n In today’s salary cap landscape, starting-caliber big men typically go for around $25-$30 million a season. For the\u00a0Lakers to have gotten Ayton for a salary of just $8 million\u00a0for the upcoming campaign is nothing short of a big win.<\/p>\n Ayton’s effort has been questioned, and there have been some worrying reports regarding his lack of discipline in terms of punctuality.<\/p>\n But this is a man who averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds in a crowded Blazers center rotation, and he’s only 26 years old. And with him foregoing his Bird rights with this move to LA, he’s going to play with a huge chip on his shoulder, looking to prove himself as he plays for another huge contract.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s crazy because two weeks ago, there was no way we could trade for Ayton with his huge salary. We blink and now he’s a Laker. Couldn’t had fathomed this 3 weeks ago. This is a huge win for the Lakers and all it cost us was DFS actually,\u201d @Trone99\u00a0explained.<\/p>\n \u201cDeandre Ayton being the 3rd\/4th option behind Luka Bron Reaves Rui is the perfect situation, especially making 8 Mil this season from the Lakers. It\u2019s a do or die situation if he wants another NBA contract. Time to get to work,\u201d @L_apostrophe_z\u00a0added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Deandre Ayton was officially announced as a Lakers player on Sunday, prompting some positive reactions from their passionate fanbase. The Los Angeles Lakers had one urgent area… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76940,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nLakers could not have done better than Deandre Ayton for the price<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Blazers](\"https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Lakers-center-Deandre-Ayton-ii.jpg\")