Less than a week after opting into his $8.1-million player option with the Lakers, Deandre Ayton is leaving Los Angeles.
The move comes shortly after the Lakers made a huge swing for their centre of the future by acquiring Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for two first-round picks.
Ayton joined the Lakers as a free agent ahead of last season on a two-year, $16.2 million contract, including the player option, after he was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 27-year-old averaged 12.5 points and eight rebounds with the Lakers, both career lows, but finished with a career-high 67.1 field goal percentage, mostly working as a play-finisher for gifted offensive table-setter Luka Doncic.
Drafted first overall by the Phoenix Suns in 2018 — the same year Doncic went third — Ayton has averaged 15.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists over his eight-year career, split between the Suns, Blazers and Lakers.
