EL SEGUNDO — For Deandre Ayton, the decision to sign with the Lakers wasn’t a tough choice to make.
After agreeing to a contract buyout with the Trail Blazers to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, Ayton was looking to get back to a winning situation after back-to-back sub-.500 seasons in Portland.
The kind of winning environment he was a part of with the Phoenix Suns, who had three consecutive winning seasons (2020-23), including a run to the 2021 NBA Finals and a 64-win season the following year, with Ayton as the starting center. The 7-foot Bahamian big man was traded to Portland during the 2023 offseason as part of the transaction that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
“The teams that me and my agents evaluated, I feel that the Lakers [were] the best fit,” Ayton said during his joint introductory press conference with fellow free agent signee Jake LaRavia at the team’s practice facility on Tuesday afternoon.
Ayton continued: “They want to win a championship right now and I want to win right now as well and just be part of a winning legacy and be around winners. And everyone said it was something difficult to think about, but it just brings me back to playing with the Suns and being part of a winning organization.
“Once you win, everything is easy. And that’s what I want to be a part of again. The last two years [were] just a different route for me and I just learned a lot that when you don’t win in this league, you can be forgotten.”
With the Lakers, Ayton is looking to get back to his “full form of how I used to play,” something he believes he will be able to do while playing off of All-Stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
“I’m just here to be a part of the puzzle,” Ayton said. “I’m here to fit in with Luka, [Coach] JJ [Redick] and whatever ’Bron wants me to do. That’s about it.”
The playmakers the Lakers have in Doncic and James, as well as rising star Austin Reaves, are the types of players Ayton became accustomed to playing with in Phoenix when he played alongside Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant.
“Just the type of players they create with their teammates – they turn them into superstars,” Ayton said of Doncic and James. “They make them bigger than their roles, they make them very important on the floor. Just seeing that and finally getting the chance to go in and experience that would be big for me. It’s those playmakers I’m used to having around me [that leads] to wins.”
Ayton was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft – two selections ahead of Doncic. The two share an agent in WME Sports’ Bill Duffy.
“This feels like a video game,” Ayton said. “Like somebody set it up. Like somebody set this up. But honestly, this is an opportunity that I won’t take for granted. Luka is a once-in-a-generation player and I’m happy to be his teammate. Hearing about the kind of shape he’s been in, he’s super ripped and I’m finally glad to be on his side when he’s doing all of that.”
LaRavia, the 23-year-old wing the Lakers signed to a two-year, $12 million deal not too long after free agency started last week, also mentioned playing off the Lakers’ stars as something that excited him.
“I’m pretty versatile on both sides of the ball,” LaRavia said. “Being able to space the floor and playing off guys like LeBron, Luka, Austin and then defensively just being able to take on that toughest matchup [on defense] is something that I’ve been growing on as my years have gone on. I’ll fit right in just as that kind of 3-and-D connector-type player on this team. I’m just excited to grow and develop here.”
LaRavia added: “It’s just a well-put-together team. A lot of obviously really, really good players on this team: Luka and LeBron, high-IQ players that’s been in the league a long time. I’m just excited to get with them and learn.”
And while there’s still an element of learning for Ayton, who will turn 27 later in July and is entering his eighth NBA season, joining and thriving with the Lakers will be, in part, about getting back to consistently doing the things he did to impact winning at the highest level with the Suns. And showing that his time with the Trail Blazers isn’t a reflection of his career trajectory.
Ayton has been a polarizing player since he entered the league despite his statistical productivity.
He’s averaged a double-double every season of his career, with career averages of 16.4 points (59% shooting), 10.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and one blocked shot in 398 regular-season games (30.8 minutes).
But his drawbacks, primarily perceived inconsistencies regarding his effort and team buy-in, have led his first two NBA teams – first the Suns and now the Trail Blazers – to move on from him despite his talent.
“True professionalism,” Ayton responded when asked what he learned at his previous two stops. “I feel like I’ve just been absent for a little bit in this league. And hard work, I’ve just been trying to put in as much work as I possibly can. When I’m on the floor, I want to really just show the world and prove to everybody that I am a winner. Any position I’m in, I just want to really win and sacrifice the way I did coming into this league.”
Ayton said on Tuesday that the criticisms about him not consistently playing at the highest level motivates him.
“It fuels me, it fuels me up completely,” he added. “And it’s a different type of drive that I’ve been wanting to express for a long time. This is the perfect timing, here in the purple and gold. And it’s a platform that I cannot run from. I can show what I really am and just be around some greats to really emphasize that for me as well. It is a lot of fuel in me to prove to the whole world.”