There is one day to go before NBA teams are officially allowed to start talking to free agents. The Los Angeles Lakers will have several of their own players hit the open market as free agents, including LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes.
But their starting center won’t be one of those men. Deandre Ayton has an $8.1 million player option for next season, and he has reportedly decided to exercise that option, per Shams Charania of ESPN, which means he will remain on the Lakers’ roster.
“Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton is opting into his $8.1 million player option for the 2026-27 season, sources tell ESPN,” Charania wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 12.5 points and eight rebounds a game this season, but both numbers were career lows, as he had to adjust to being lower on his team’s offensive pecking order than he previously was. There were times when he performed well, especially on the boards, but overall, many fans feel he was a disappointment, mostly due to his inconsistent motor.
Against the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, Ayton gobbled up the backboards and played physical positional defense on Houston All-Star center Alperen Sengun. He was a major reason L.A. advanced in six games, especially with Luka Doncic out due to a hamstring strain. But he went back to being underwhelming in the next round as the team was swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Deandre Ayton is exercising the player option on his contract
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
