Exclusive Ayton is agreeing to buyout

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BoBoBREWSKI said:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45652105/2025-nba-free-agency-winners-losers-offseason

Loser: Los Angeles Lakers

From the moment the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic in a surprise blockbuster, they desperately needed a center. They lost their previous starter, Anthony Davis, in the Doncic trade, and Doncic's game would mesh perfectly with a dynamic pick-and-roll partner. There's a reason Daniel Gafford broke out once he joined Doncic in Dallas and that Dereck Lively II was an impact rookie on the same team.

So it was no surprise that the Lakers agreed in principle to trade for a young, bouncy center immediately after acquiring Doncic. But when they rescinded the Mark Williams deal because of a failed physical, the Lakers were stuck with the players they already had on the roster. Jaxson Hayes started four playoff games but clearly didn't have coach JJ Redick's trust, as he played single-digit minutes in all four contests before being benched as Redick moved to a small-ball approach for all 48 minutes in the Lakers' final loss of the season.

At the very least, in the wake of the Lakers' disappointing playoff flameout, their top priority this summer seemed clear. And yet, a few days into the free agent frenzy, all of their top potential targets signed elsewhere, and they were stuck with Deandre Ayton, a surprise addition to the market after a buyout agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Ayton doesn't profile as an ideal short-term solution for a championship hopeful nor is he a long-term fit next to Doncic. The 2018 No. 1 pick -- two picks ahead of Doncic, incidentally -- is neither a rim runner nor a floor spacer, and his game peaked a half-decade ago. Despite persistently impressive box score stats, the best public advanced stats all rate Ayton as a below-average player.

Meanwhile, Ayton's two-year deal with a player option carries little upside for the team. If he's good in Year 1, he'll opt out, whereas if he doesn't gain Redick's favor, he'll stay on the team's books for a second season.

This is a dangerous game to play when the Lakers are trying to manage James' discontent and coax Doncic into signing a long-term extension later this summer. For now, there's not much about this roster that should compel his signature. The Lakers have an imbalanced rotation with a lot of power forwards -- Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, Jarred Vanderbilt and, of course, James -- but no trustworthy centers, and their only move of consequence other than signing Ayton is replacing Finney-Smith with Jake LaRavia.
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You sure are spending a ton of time trashing on a team that might win TWICE as many games as us this upcoming season bro.
 
And just to go the record….. I’m not even a DA fan!!!!
 
The fit and how the Lakers make use of what Ayton does and can do could be a benefit to them. Ayton will have to pay attention to what Lebron says. On the Blazers, he did not fit what they have become and where they want to go. It’s good for both teams.
 
I CAN tell you who will lead the NBA in ally-oop finishes! Whether that’s important or not, that dude is going to be left open quite a bit. If only he could shoot a little mid range j too?
 
THE HCP said:
I CAN tell you who will lead the NBA in ally-oop finishes! Whether that’s important or not, that dude is going to be left open quite a bit. If only he could shoot a little mid range j too?
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The most inefficient shot in basketball? Sure, why not...
 
THE HCP said:
We also got rid of Ant, our best scorer. You will have no low post game to go to anymore. I don’t need stats to tell me that Ayton would help us win more games this season. Who is your backup center, because you will be seeing a TON of him.
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You seem torn, sometimes you refer to the Blazers as “you” and other times “us”. Pick a side Fams.
 
THE HCP said:
You sure are spending a ton of time trashing on a team that might win TWICE as many games as us this upcoming season bro.
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Hard to imagine Blazers winning less than 35 games and equally hard to imagine Lakers winning 70+ games. Explain your math.
 
Strenuus said:
The way its currently constructed id be shocked if we won 35.

We have inconsistent scoring everywhere lol.
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Camara, Avdija, and Sharpe are trending up. Simons and Ayton were negatives last year and now they are gone. And team went 23-18 to close season last year. Defense should be improved. We have 3 All NBA Defense players. We’ll see. Prepare to be shocked.
 
THE HCP said:
We also got rid of Ant, our best scorer. You will have no low post game to go to anymore. I don’t need stats to tell me that Ayton would help us win more games this season. Who is your backup center, because you will be seeing a TON of him.
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Scoring and winning are not the same thing. Jrue in down year had almost twice the ws/48 of ant, replace ant's minutes with jrue and you are more likely to win.

A rookie DC had a higher ws/48 than DA, Assuming DC plays more now that DA is not ahead of him in the rotation is a good thing. The real question is what happens when DC sits. If RW3 can play. You win a lot more (again. Higher ws/48 than DA). If Duop plays. You lose a bit more (a lot closer to DA than you would think)

So, the real question is, how ready HY is...
 
THE HCP said:
We also got rid of Ant, our best scorer. You will have no low post game to go to anymore. I don’t need stats to tell me that Ayton would help us win more games this season. Who is your backup center, because you will be seeing a TON of him.
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This is what is so perplexing. I agree with what you have typed here, but why the fuck did Management trade Ant for Jrue. Buy him out. If he doesn't want that then have him do what is best for the team, come off the bench. I haven't heard anything about him being a bad teammate or malcontent like Ayton is reported to have been. Seems Grant will not be going anywhere any time soon unless Portland gets lucky and maybe gets in on this possible 7 team trade being rumored. I understand they have to reach the salary floor, but that is not a consideration here.
 
KingSpeed said:
Camara, Avdija, and Sharpe are trending up. Simons and Ayton were negatives last year and now they are gone. And team went 23-18 to close season last year. Defense should be improved. We have 3 All NBA Defense players. We’ll see. Prepare to be shocked.
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To close out last season? Two of those reasons are gone. Last year means nothing.

We will be under 35 wins if we dont address the shooting.
 
KingSpeed said:
Hard to imagine Blazers winning less than 35 games and equally hard to imagine Lakers winning 70+ games. Explain your math.
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If you think this current roster is winning 35 games…… god help ya Uber Driver.
 
Ride those numbers nerds, RIDE ‘EM!
 
Reminds me of that old excedrin commercial where the ordinary working Joe say “Don’t show me charts and graphs. I don’t believe them!”
 
Strenuus said:
To close out last season? Two of those reasons are gone. Last year means nothing.

We will be under 35 wins if we dont address the shooting.
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Ayton missed most of the second half of the season. We played better when Simons was on the bench. The two main reasons we had a surge were Camara and Avdija who are still here and primed for a leap.
 
KingSpeed said:
Camara, Avdija, and Sharpe are trending up. Simons and Ayton were negatives last year and now they are gone. And team went 23-18 to close season last year. Defense should be improved. We have 3 All NBA Defense players. We’ll see. Prepare to be shocked.
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Holiday, Camara, who is the 3rd all nba defender?

Edit: So Matisse is the 3rd

We also have
Williams and Clingan both good defenders

Deni and Jerami are not bad either

Overall we should be above average defensive team
 
The bottom line is the team has its work cut out for them. My dream is a 500 season. It’s a reach but you never know how the year will play out.
 
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