Deandre Ayton Trade The Lakers And Trail Blazers Must Consider

I believe the Los Angeles Lakers should try to acquire Deandre Ayton.

Jan 31, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) celebrates victory with guard Scoot Henderson (00) after a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Deandre Ayton has been unable to reach his All-Star potential over seven seasons in the NBA.

That said, the former first-overall pick is a productive center with averages of 14.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest while shooting 55.4% from the field in 17 games.

With the Portland Trail Blazers still in rebuilding mode, I believe the Los Angeles Lakers should attempt to land Ayton in a trade.

Apr 9, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) dunks the ball over New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) in the fourth quarter at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images / Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

Ayton will be a free agent in the summer of 2026.

Counting this season, he is owed nearly $70 million, which makes him have a very low value on the trading block.

A deal centered around the contracts of Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura would work financially (h/t Spotrac NBA Trade Machine).

Dec 1, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) shoots the ball during warm ups before playing in a game against the Dallas Mavericks at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images / Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

For the Trail Blazers, they could potentially command modest draft-pick compensation from the Lakers to entice them to make the deal.

In addition, they would get off of Ayton's contract (and can try to flip Vincent, Vanderbilt or Hachimura to another team).

Apr 12, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) dunks during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

On the other side, the Lakers would address their need for another center.

Ayton would have a chance to excel in a role where he is not a focal point on offense.

Instead, he could have a lot of opportunities to get easy looks at the basket playing next to future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Just three years into his career, Deandre Ayton is heading to the NBA Finals. It's the fastest a No. 1 overall pick has done that since Kenyon Martin made it in 2002. pic.twitter.com/UOLkicG7Yu

— theScore (@theScore) July 1, 2021

The Lakers would also be able to make a significant upgrade to their roster without having to get rid of 2019 NBA All-Star D'Angelo Russell.