The acquisition of center Deandre Ayton shows that the L.A. Lakers are still in win-now mode. However, it appears that LeBron James no longer aligns with the Lakers’ long-term plan. The Lakers are treating LeBron as an “expiring contract.” And this is not sitting well with LeBron and his Klutch Sports crew.

Deandre Ayton, former No. 1 overall pick in 2018, signed with the Lakers on a two-year deal worth $16 million. The Lakers now have their starting center in place. Ayton wasn’t the top center Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka had targeted at the start of free agency, but he took advantage of the bad breakup in Portland after the Blazers bought out Ayton’s contract.

Ayton will make $33 million during the 2025-26 season, but the Lakers are on the hook for only $8 million, so the Blazers are eating the bulk of that contract. That’s how badly they wanted to distance themselves from Ayton, whose time in Portland was a disappointment. He averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds in just 40 games in the 2024-25 season.

Here’s what the Ayton move means for the Lakers. It means the Lakers are still in it to win it for 2025-26; they still want to win now. However, they are also preparing themselves for the future and that future doesn’t include LeBron James.

Ayton’s deal is team-friendly. It’s consistent with the Lakers’ plan of attack so far, which is to sign short-term deals and avoid contracts that will strain their salary cap situation. This approach played out during negotiations with free agent Dorian Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith wanted to return to the Lakers but he was seeking a four-year deal. The Lakers declined and DFS agreed to terms with the Houston Rockets on a four-year, $53 million deal. The Lakers quickly pivoted to fill the open roster spot, signing wing player Jake LaRavia. The 3-point specialist signed a two-year contract worth around $12 million.

The cost-effective and shorter-term deals put the Lakers in a position to leave the door open in case players like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic become available. There’s no guarantee that the Greek Freak or Joker will be coming to L.A. shortly, but at least the Lakers are setting themselves up to be in good standing cap-wise for any scenario. This is a savvy business move, and it’s a smart move. This is how Mark Walter, the new majority owner of the Lakers, operated the L.A. Dodgers and that turned out pretty well for the Dodgers.

The Lakers are prioritizing Luka Doncic’s timeline over LeBron James’ timeline. Everything the Lakers have done after LeBron opted into his $52 million deal to play one more year is consistent with the Lakers’ long-term plan — and the master plan revolves around Luka.

There’s a strong indication, based on LeBron’s social media reactions and the messaging from his agent Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, that the Lakers prioritizing Luka over LeBron is something that LeBron and his team are not OK with.

Luka is now wearing the crown and this narrative undercuts the King James brand. You can’t be king if someone else is now wearing the crown. For the first time in LeBron’s career he is no longer in full control of the situation.

LeBron is a brand. He operates on LeBron time. He controls the narrative. He is the face of the player empowerment era that he helped create.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career. We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive, and want what’s best for him.”

The key part of that statement was: “He wants to make every season he has left count.”

LeBron is in win-now, win-at-all-cost mode for the 2025-26. He doesn’t want to waste any time. He is saying this through his agent Rich Paul.

The Lakers also want to win now, but they’re also preparing for the future. The Lakers and their new majority ownership group headed by Walter are now in full control of the situation, and this is making LeBron and Klutch Sports uneasy. They have never felt this way throughout LeBron’s career.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who knows LeBron better than anyone, suggested that the Lakers are treating LeBron as an expiring contract, which is quite remarkable for someone of LeBron’s caliber. Windhorst said there weren’t any substantive negotiations with the Lakers before James exercised his $52.6 million player option and there were no substantive talks of a contract extension.

Windhorst said: “The Lakers and LeBron, whoever wants to spin their side of the story, I’m not sure what happened, but the Lakers and LeBron did not have substantive discussions about extending his contract, which every team that LeBron’s been on for 20-something years has wanted to have substantive conversations about extending his contract. And what happens to expiring contracts in the NBA? They’re viewed as trade pieces.”

If the 2025-26 season is indeed LeBron’s final year with the Lakers, the past seven years have been a major win for both sides. The Lakers won an NBA title in 2020 and won the inaugural NBA Cup. The Lakers became relevant again after some down years after Kobe Bryant retired. The marriage between the Lakers and LeBron was worth it. And for LeBron, the move to L.A. was a huge success. He was able to carve out a legacy in L.A. He was gifted the opportunity to play with his son, Bronny. He won a title and set the all-time scoring record wearing a Laker jersey. It was a resounding success.

If this is truly LeBron’s final year as a Los Angeles Laker, both sides should be at peace. It was fun while it lasted but now it’s time to move on.

The Lakers are thinking of long-term investment, and the long-term investment starts with Doncic. They can use LeBron’s salary slot to sign players in the 2026 offseason. The Lakers are going about it the right way. They’re not absorbing contracts and signing expensive free agents just to appease LeBron.

Pelinka is operating on a new future timeline. His job is to keep the books to save the team’s salary slot in 2026 and 2027 and prepare for any scenario. L.A. needs to keep that slot open for someone like Giannis, who has yet to sign his extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Jokic.

Giannis’ current deal has a player option in 2027 which Giannis could opt out of. If Giannis opts out, then the Lakers can position themselves in the Giannis sweepstakes. It’s a similar situation with Jokic. Joker has three years left on his current deal with the Denver Nuggets, but he has a player option in 2027. If things go sideways in Denver, Jokic can opt. If that happens, the Lakers can position themselves in the Jokic sweepstakes.

A Luka-Giannis pairing or Luka-Jokic pairing would be something the new Lakers ownership group won’t hesitate to pull the trigger on a massive move.

Deandre Ayton is causing a major reassessment of the value of an old-school basketball center. When Ayton was selected No. 1 overall in the 2018 NBA draft, some internet draft “experts” thought the Phoenix Suns were making a mistake for investing in a 7-footer who doesn’t fit the modern big preferred by analytics.

Now, the 250-pound Bahamian beast is making a believer out of almost everyone in the basketball world — including the analytics nerds.

Ayton made a splashy debut in the NBA Finals, scoring 22 points, grabbing 19 rebounds, shooting 80 percent from the field (making eight of 10 shots) against the Milwaukee Bucks. Only three other players put up those kinds of numbers in the NBA Finals: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

“I’m just happy. I get goosebumps. Sometimes I overwhelm myself on the way to the game. I’m having a lot of fun because my guys in here, they keep me level,” said Ayton, who is shooting a Shaq-like 71 percent from the field in the 2021 postseason while averaging 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Chris Paul and Devin Booker grab all the headlines and the SportsCenter highlights, but it’s Ayton who might be the most important player on the Suns.

Ayton gave the L.A. Lakers fits in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, going toe-to-toe with Lakers superstar Anthony Davis. After dispatching the Lakers, Suns swept the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals. In that series, Ayton was matched against reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Ayton basically played Jokic to a draw, which was a win for the Suns.

In the conference finals, Ayton consistently destroyed the L.A. Clippers’ small-ball lineup and forced Clippers coach Ty Lue to go back to a more conventional lineup with 7-footer Ivica Zubac at center.

Jokic, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, and Utah’s Rudy Gobert — the three big men regarding by many experts as 1-2-3 in the pecking order — are all sitting at home while Ayton keeps getting stronger with each round and appears ready to challenge Jokic, Embiid, and Gobert for a spot on the All-NBA teams.

“He’s just locked into the role,” Suns coach Monty Williams said his third-year center. “Sometimes when you tell a player they have a role, they tend to think you’re limiting their ability. I don’t think DA thinks that. I think he understands his role and how he can affect winning, on both sides of the ball.”

Ayton’s role on the Suns is simple. Offensively, when he’s not catching lobs and finishing at the rim, he helps trigger the offense by setting screens, freeing up Paul and Booker on many mid-range forays. Defensively, he protects the paint and secures any defensive rebound he can get his hands on. It’s imperative for him to win the battle of the boards because the Suns are not the biggest team in the league. Ayton doesn’t mind doing all the dirty work.

“He’s just a presence down there,” Williams said of his young center, who turns 23 on July 23. “Sometimes they have to run two guys at him to keep him off the glass, and that allows our wings to pick up some offensive rebounds.”

Williams added: “I think his focus during the playoffs has been something that doesn’t surprise me — I just didn’t expect him, as young as he is, to be locked in,” Williams said. “And he’s been listening to Chris [Paul], all of our older guys when it comes to the experience, the playoff mentality and everything he’s doing in the weight room. I’ll look over in the weight room and he’s doing something in the weight room that I have never seen him do before, and it’s usually something that Chris has in his program.”

Ayton has totally bought into what Williams has been preaching since the day he got hired as Phoenix’s head coach. Williams wanted Ayton to get in better shape and focus on the game plan.

“He’s watching a ton of film on his own, so I just think he’s embracing the experience,” Williams said. “To be as young as he is and his first time going through it, I did not expect him to be where he is right now as far as his focus and attention to detail and the level of force that he’s playing with.”

There was a moment in Game 2 of the NBA Finals involving Williams and Ayton that’ll inspire basketball fans. Ayton was sulking a bit because he wasn’t playing up to his standard. Williams immediately noticed his big man was feeling a little down, so he took the time to pump him up.

“Look at me. You set a high level for yourself. That’s why you’re down. That’s great,” Williams told Ayton. “Now go reach that level. And you can reach it with force. Dominate the game with force.”

Ayton responded with another forceful game.

DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III headline 2018 NBA draft class. (AP)

This year’s NBA draft may not have a LeBron James or Kevin Durant or a Steph Curry but it has plenty of very gifted young prospects who have the talent and pedigree to could contribute right away for a lot of teams, and may even become the face of a franchise.

The Phoenix Suns have the top pick in the draft, and it appears they are going to take local product DeAndre Ayton. After Ayton, the rest of the board is up in the air. OneManFastBreak lists the top eight prospects in the 2018 NBA draft on June 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.:

1-DeAndre Ayton, 7-0 260, C, Arizona – Ayton checks all the boxes to be a No. 1 overall selection. He is a natural center who can finish at the rim. A throwback player who is only scratching the surface of his real talents. He is big, athletic, strong, and has a little bit of a nasty streak. Arizona coach Sean Miller said Ayton “was a one-man wrecking crew” in the championship game of the Pac-12 tournament when he scored 32 points and grabbed 18 rebounds against USC. Against UCLA in the Pac-12 semifinals, Ayton had 32 points and 14 rebounds. He’s about as NBA-ready as anyone signed up for the 2018 draft. “He’s uniquely gifted with that size and length and athleticism and he’s got great hands,” Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough said. Native Bahamian and NBA champion Mychal Thompson (the father of Klay Thompson) has been singing Ayton’s praises for the last two years. A lot of that hype was validated in his one season at the University of Arizona. Ayton averaged 20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and shot 61.2% from the field in 35 games. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Year and was a consensus All-American selection. After working out for the Suns, who hold the top pick in the draft, Ayton told the media, “I know I’m going No. 1.”
NBA comparison: Amar’e Stoudemire

2-Marvin Bagley III, 6-11 235, C-F, Duke – Bagley, whose dad played for the Arizona Rattlers, is just a notch below Ayton in terms of talent, but the Duke product has a skillset that many NBA teams crave. Bagley is a face-up big man who can knock down long-range jumpers and handle the ball above the foul line. He is an ideal perimeter forward or stretch 4. He reminds scouts of Chris Bosh. A lefty who can space the floor who can also play the 5 if needed. Bagley averaged 21 points, 11.1 rebounds and shot 61.4% in 33 games at Duke. He was named ACC Rookie of the Year and first-team All-American. Bagley established himself as a lottery pick with an outstanding performance during the PK80 tournament in Portland when he scored 34 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Mohamed Bamba and Texas. Bagley reclassified himself in high school at Sierra Canyon to allow him to be eligible for the 2018 NBA draft. He won’t turn 20 until March of 2019. Whichever team drafts Bagley may not get his full potential until his body fully matures. But when it does, he could be a future NBA All-Star.
NBA comparison: Chris Bosh

3-Michael Porter Jr., 6-10 215, F, Missouri – A year ago, Porter’s name was atop many draft boards as the next can’t-miss prospect. He was the consensus high school player of the year and preseason college All-American. But a lower back injury that required surgery adds a bit of mystery to his NBA future. He came back to play three games for Missouri but looked real rusty. Some scouts thought he would have been better served taking the entire year off and not risk further damage to his back and to his draft stock. But give Porter credit for fast-tracking his rehab to get on the floor for his college team. He is a physically gifted player who fits in well in the modern NBA. At 6-10 and 215 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan, he can play on the wing or center and his handles are above average for a big man. Porter is extremely versatile. He has a unique ability to grab a defensive rebound and lead a fast break. Porter doesn’t do one thing great, but does many things well. His weakness is on the defensive end, as he might struggle against quick guards coming off screens. There’s a high risk, high reward label with Porter. The reward appears to be greater than the risk.
NBA comparison: Jayson Tatum

4-Collin Sexton, 6-2 185, PG, Alabama – The ultra-competitive Sexton could very well be the best point guard prospect in the draft. Oklahoma’s Trae Young, who is just outside of this top-eight list, is getting the most of the attention from the media, but Sexton has the most upside. Sexton is a dynamic player who plays with a lot of passion. When he’s locked in, he plays on a different level because of his excellent burst. He has the ability to destroy a defense without the benefit of a screen. He learned under former NBA point guard Avery Johnson while at Alabama. “At the end of the year, he started to figure some more things out about defenses and being a leader on our team,” Johnson said of his point guard, who averaged 26.3 points in three games in the SEC tournament. He scored 40 points in a loss to Minnesota when Alabama was down to three players on the court. Johnson said Sexton excels in the pick-and-roll game and plays both ends. “A lot of attributes about his game translate to the NBA game,” Johnson said. Former NBA general manager Billy King said he loves Sexton’s speed and quickness, but he has questions about his jump shot. Some scouts are also concerned that Sexton allows his emotions get the best of him. Scouts had those similar concerns about Marcus Smart when he came out of Oklahoma State. He turned out to be an “OK” NBA player.
NBA comparison: Derrick Rose

5-Mohamed Bamba, 7-0 207, C, Texas – The former Texas Longhorn is rising fast on many draft boards following a string of strong workouts. The big man has had a meteoric rise since the college season ended, and some are even projecting him to be in the top three of the draft. During one of his workouts, Bamba reportedly ran his three-quarters-court sprint in 3.04 seconds. By comparison, Russell Westbrook ran the same drill in 3.08 seconds. Whichever team picks Bamba, they will get an athletic, lengthy center who can cover some serious ground. Bamba checked in at the NBA draft combine with a 7-foot-10 wingspan, which is just slightly longer than Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert’s wingspan. He also has shown an improved face-up game and jump shot to go with his ridiculous length. If Bamba can add an offensive game to go with his off-the-charts defensive ability, coaches won’t need to sub him out when teams go small. Player development specialist Drew Hanlen has been working with Bamba to improve his suspect jump shot, and a lot of NBA execs are liking what they’re seeing. Bamba averaged 12.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and shot 60 percent from the field in 29 games at Texas. Charles Barkley has repeatedly said that anyone who can rebound in college can be a very good NBA player.
NBA comparison: Rudy Gobert

6-Luka Doncic, 6-8 225, G-F, Slovenia – The 19-year-old Slovenian national is considered one of the best international prospects to enter the NBA draft. His father Sasa played in the Slovenian League and EuroLeague, while his mom is a former model. He made his professional debut for Real Madrid at 16. Three years later, he became the youngest player to win EuroLeague MVP. Doncic played most of his EuroLeague career at point guard, but he’s projected to be more of a wing player in the NBA. At 6-8 and 225 pounds, he looks like a mini version of Toni Kukoc or Hedo Turkoglu. He has a great feel for the game and like many European pros he can flat-out shoot the ball with range. Doncic has supreme confidence in his abilities, and he won’t hesitate to embarrass you on the court. Now, before we go all-in on Doncic the elephant in the room needs to be addressed. He’s a classic European player, and outside of a few exceptions Euros who have not been exposed to the American-style of play have not fared well in the NBA over the last 20 years. Hopefully, Doncic won’t be another Jan Vesely or Nikoloz Tskitishvili.
NBA comparison: Toni Kukoc

7-Jaren Jackson Jr., 6-11 236, F, Michigan State – The son of former San Antonio Spurs forward and NBA champion Jaren Jackson Sr. is the youngest player in the draft. He won’t turn 19 until September and has an extremely high ceiling. He put up modest statistics as a freshman at Michigan State, averaging 11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 blocks, but he was overshadowed by sophomore teammate Miles Bridges. Jackson Jr. picked up his father’s jump shot as he looks like he can consistently knock down the 3-ball from NBA range. He was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He got better and better as the season wore on, and showed flashes of being a good “3-and-D” player at the next level. What that means is NBA teams are looking for perimeter players who can hit 3-point shots and lock down on defense.
NBA comparison: Serge Ibaka

8-Mikal Bridges, 6-7 210, F, Villanova — At 21, Bridges is one of the oldest players in the lottery but he also the most decorated. He won two national championships at Villanova. Bridges is somewhat of a late bloomer. He greatly improved his draft stock with an outstanding junior year. After averaging 9.8 points during his sophomore season, Bridges doubled that total as a junior averaging 17.7 in 40 games. “He’s the kind of player many teams would love to have in that wing role of three-and-D,” a Western Conference NBA scout says. “He’s a guy that can be a 10-year-plus pro with his style of play.” Bridges is a solid two-way player who reminds some scouts of another Villanova star, Kerry Kittles. Bridges is a plug-and-play player, who can help a team immediately.
NBA comparison: Kerry Kittles