The former No. 1 pick will hit the market.
The move does not a total surprise, but once official, Ayton will be able to sign with any team in the league. One team that's popped up as a viable option for Ayton is the Los Angeles Lakers, who are in major need of a center after trading away Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic back in Feburary.
Ayton was sent to the Trail Blazers back in 2023 in the three-team blockbuster trade that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. Ayton had played his entire five-year NBA career with the Phoenix Suns before that trade. Ayton played two seasons on the Trail Blazers. He produced his lowest scoring average last season at 14.4 points per game, while also notching 10.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in the 40 contests he started in.Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.
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