The looming start of NBA free agency just got a little more juice late Sunday night, when ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Portland Trail Blazers had agreed to buy out the final year of DeAndre Ayton's contract. Ayton was set to enter the final year of the four-year, $133 million deal he signed with the Phoenix Suns way back in the summer of 2022. Now, he's set to hit the market, as Portland adding Chinese rookie Hansen Yang to an already crowded big-man rotation put the writing on the wall.
From pretty much the moment Charania's report hit the internet, the entire NBA world had the same thought: This is a golden opportunity for the Los Angeles Lakers. L.A. has been looking for a rim-running center from the moment it acquired Luka Doncic; Ayton is looking to rebuild some of his value. A cheap, one-year contract that puts Ayton in a position to succeed and gives the Lakers' some much-needed interior presence would seem to be an ideal outcome for everyone involved.
But what if this doesn't have to be a foregone conclusion just yet? The Lakers would seem to be a great fit for Ayton, and vice versa, but they're hardly the only team around the league in need of center help. In fact, their crosstown rival is looking to add a big man as well, and they might be in perfect position to foil L.A.'s best-laid plans.
Clippers could make a surprise run at DeAndre Ayton
Sure, the Clips' need might not be quite as pressing. They have Ivica Zubac coming off the best season of his career, after all, and they just drafted Penn State big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser with the final pick of the first round in last week's NBA Draft. But Niederhauser is a real project, a major athlete whose lack of feel is going to make life tough at the pro level for at least the near term, and Zubac still needs somebody who can spell him for 15-20 minutes per game.
Why can't that someone be Ayton? Clint Capela comes with years of experience playing with James Harden, but he's clearly on the back nine of his career at age 31. Ayton is still just 26 years old, and for as polarizing a player as he's pretty much always been, he was a genuinely impactful player for a Suns team that got to within two wins of an NBA title. He's not going to cost much, because whatever his new team pays him will count against the money he's getting from Portland. Why wouldn't this be a worthy roll of the dice for the Clips, one with far more upside than the other options out there right now?
Of course, the fact that it would come at the Lakers' expense would just be the cherry on top. Granted, the Lakers do have quite a bit to offer, with LeBron James in tow and Luke Doncic making every center's life easier. But the Clippers figure to be competitive in the West once again after bringing James Harden back on a new two-year deal, and maybe life outside of the harshest spotlight in basketball might appeal to someone who's always tended to march to the beat of his own drum.
No one's expecting Ayton to be an All-NBA player, or even to regain the form he showed toward the end of his run with Phoenix. But he's big and skilled and might benefit from a return to a more competitive environment, and the Clippers could do a lot worse to fill a clear need.