What Deandre Ayton Signing Means for Luka, LeBron, and Lakers

On Wednesday, the Lakers finally put their fans at ease by signing their newest big man, DeAndre Ayton. It’s been a long time coming, but the Lakers have a starting-caliber center at last.

On Monday, before free agency, it was announced that the Trailblazers would be buying out the remainder of Ayton’s contract. Making Ayton a free agent changed his market entirely.

Initially, it would’ve taken a trade matching his high contract of roughly $35 million and trading assets as well. After the buyout, he became much cheaper and easier to acquire. This obviously intrigued the Lakers as they’ve been searching for a starting-caliber center for some time now.

Rob Pelinka finally got the job done and secured the first key missing piece of this team. With a player of Ayton’s caliber, it will certainly alter Luka’s play, LeBron’s mindset moving forward, and the Lakers’ title hopes as a whole. Let’s break it down.

Luka’s fit with Ayton

The Lakers now employ both the number one and number three picks from the 2018 draft. In hindsight, their positioning should have been flipped completely, but here we are.

With a contract extension looming for Luka Doncic, it’s imperative that the moves the Lakers make are appeasing to the new face of their franchise. Luckily, we got early reports that this signing was a step in the right direction.

According to league sources, Doncic is reportedly excited about the opportunity to play with Ayton, which bodes extremely well for his contract extension coming up.

The feeling between Doncic and Ayton is mutual. According to Evan Sidery, Deandre Ayton chose the Lakers based on Luka Doncic’s presence, as well as the team’s title aspirations.

The duo should be fun to watch on the court. Their play styles pair very nicely together, and I believe that Luka could lead to a career year for Ayton.

Ayton-Luka 2-man game is going to be killer

Drop = Luka pull-up 3s

Hedge = w/LA’s playbook we’ll get 3v2s/2v1s for a lot of Ayton lobs and open corner 3s

Switch = Luka can cook a switch outside or Ayton can cook one inside

Switching was the hole with Hayes. That’s filled now. https://t.co/gDcMN6cv8f

— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) July 2, 2025

Ayton is a fantastic screener and roller to the rim. Coincidentally, Luka Doncic is a phenomenal pick-and-roll ball handler. The two of them together, paired with Ayton’s nice touch from the midrange in, will be a difficult action to stop.

During Ayton’s tenure in Phoenix, he played alongside Chris Paul in 160 games. Over that span, he averaged 16.1 PPG and 10.2 RPG. Chris Paul was already 35. Playing next to a 26-year-old Luka Doncic could truly unlock Ayton’s full potential.

Both players will go into this season attempting to repair their images in different ways. That sort of motivation being shared between two key players could be a driving force for this team.

LeBron’s Mindset Moving Forward

As free agency has kicked off, LeBron James has been stealing the headlines. With cryptic messaging from himself and his agent Rich Paul, his future with the Lakers has unexpectedly become tumultuous.

For possibly the first time in his Lakers tenure, it is not a 100% guarantee that LeBron will be suiting up in purple and gold next season. While it’s still highly likely that he does return, the news swirling around has put a spotlight on every move the Lakers make from here on out.

Similarly to appeasing Doncic, signing Deandre Ayton is a step in the right direction with James. It didn’t take a high basketball IQ to realize how glaring the lack of a center was last year. For a player like LeBron James, it must have been agonizing.

Like Doncic, James’ game will not only be enhanced thanks to Ayton, but he’ll maximize Ayton tenfold.

Impact of Deandre Ayton for the Lakers

The Lakers find themselves in a predicament regarding the overall team timeline. On the one, more important hand, you need to plan around your 26-year-old superstar. On the other hand, you still have the greatest player of all time on your roster who can still compete for titles. He happens to be 40.

The Ayton signing is a perfect blend of both. He could play excellently on a very team-friendly deal this season, accept his player option, and possibly continue as Luka’s big man of the future. With his contract being so reasonable, he also allows Los Angeles to further pursue additions to the team, pushing for a championship now.

Following the Doncic trade, it was painful knowing precisely what the issue was and having no way of addressing it. As Rob Pelinka would say, the Lakers have just been gifted manna from heaven.

Centers that averaged a double double last season

– Jokic
-Sabonis
-Zubac
-Towns
-Vuc
-Sengun
-Ayton
-Wemby

Lakers got one for 8 million dollars 🔥🚨 pic.twitter.com/r5zigoM3nI

— Playoff LAL (@PlayoffLAL) July 3, 2025

Not only is Deandre Ayton better than any option the Lakers had at the position post-Anthony Davis, he may be the best Lakers center outside of Anthony Davis in the last decade. He’s undoubtedly the best big man that Luka has ever played with.

Ayton is a very large frame, but he can struggle as a true rim protector at times. Between that and his questionable motor to this point in his career, there was definitely a reason he was bought out by Portland.

Between playing with Luka, being coached hard by JJ, and having the first real title aspirations in some time, I like the odds of those issues being turned around.