The Los Angeles Lakers have many decisions to make for the 2026-27 season with free agency beginning on Tuesday, June 30. One decision that was not theirs, however, was the player option on starting center Deandre Ayton’s second season. Ayton signed a two-year, $16.2 million deal last summer after a buyout from the Portland Trail Blazers, and served admirably as the team’s starter in 2025-26.
Ayton’s deal included a player option worth $8.1 million for the upcoming season, which meant he had a benchmark for the type of deal he needed to get in order to decline it. He, seemingly, was unable to do so and has now exercised that option to return to the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of ESPN:
Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton is opting into his $8.1 million player option for the 2026-27 season, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/YCEkd3wgmj
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2026
Ayton’s numbers last season were strong. He averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 67.1% shooting from the field. He played — and started — in 72 regular season games and all 10 playoff games. By most metrics, Ayton did well in his first season with the Lakers alongside Luka Doncic.
However, the Lakers going into the 2026-27 season with Ayton as their starting center would mean they failed to accomplish their goal of landing Doncic an A-list big man for the foreseeable future, and would mean another season of stopgap play at the center position.
Ayton at $8.1 million is objectively good value. He is the type of talent that make it worthwhile to pay him that amount of money, and arguably even more. But he is a clunky fit next to Doncic, as he is neither an elite vertical lob threat or a rim protector (1.0 blocks per game last season).
The Lakers can still trade him as an $8.1 million expiring deal, have him be the backup to a more meaningful acquisition or have him be the starter. While it was Ayton’s decision on the contract, the Lakers still have the ability to make their own choice with regard to his future in L.A.
Lakers interested in free agent big men
The Lakers are certainly still scouring the market for big men, although there aren’t many elite choices in unrestricted free agency. Two players that will have plenty of interest as mid-tier options are Jock Landale and Dean Wade, and it seems the Lakers reportedly are interested in both players.
Wade is a strong fit on both ends of the floor next to Doncic and Austin Reaves, while Landale provides a stretch big that can be a far more effective replacement for Maxi Kleber.
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