Few teams showed more pure conviction in the 2026 NBA offseason like the Los Angeles Lakers did.
The Lakers had major roster turnover during the summer, starting with the departure of LeBron James, the NBA’s all time leading scorer, before the franchise acquired star big man Walker Kessler in one of the marquee moves of the offseason.
The Lakers then let go of a big man just days after adding one. Just a year after signing Deandre Ayton as a free agent, the Lakers, to the surprise of some, dealt Ayton to the Washington Wizards.
The Lakers Can Comfortably Be Called Winners of the Ayton Trade
When L.A. traded Ayton just days after the veteran big man picked up his player option for the 2026-27 season, some questioned the move considering how light the team already was in the frontcourt. The same can be said about the Lakers’ big man situation today, even after landing Kessler. But at least the Lakers picked up a pair of second round picks in the deal for Ayton, who has struggled mightily so far in his Wizards tenure.
“There is a lot of focus, for good reason, on Anthony Davis in Washington,” wrote Heavy NBA insider Sean Deveney. “But backup center Deandre Ayton is getting just 14.4 minutes per game and his $8.1 million expiring contract could be had for a song if there’s a team that thinks it can reinvigorate him. The Wiz gave up two second-rounders for him, and already, that looks like an overpay.”
The Lakers certainly look good after nabbing two second round picks in exchange for a player who is averaging just 4.5 points per game on the season. While L.A. lacks a back up big man, and though Ayton could have filled that role potentially well, they now have some draft capital they can use in a deal to acquire another reinforcement.
L.A.’s Reason for Moving on From Ayton
Lakers fans had their frustrations with Ayton all last season. From his poor rebounding at times to his struggles holding onto the basketball inside the paint, there were plenty of moments where both the fans and head coach JJ Redick were fuming watching Ayton’s play. As for the Lakers’ decision to move on from Ayton, it had some to do with the team often having to keep the big man in check.
“This is going to sound like a knock on Ayton, and I don’t mean for that to be the case. But managing him and his personality, keeping him focused and content and trying to get him to mold his game into the role the Lakers needed took a lot of time and energy,” wrote The Athletic’s Dan Woike in a recent Reddit Q&A. “I think the team would’ve moved forward with him as the backup after they got the Kessler deal done (not a guarantee at the start of the summer), but a chance to pickup some picks was too good to pass up, even if it (was) downgrading backup C.”
The Lakers are almost certainly going to have to use the picks acquired in the Ayton trade to grab another big man before the deadline strikes in February. Already the winners of the deal with the Wizards, the Lakers could soon turn Ayton into a consistently reliable back up big man to support Kessler in the frontcourt.
Lakers Emerge as Winners of Bold Trade Involving Polarizing Former No. 1 Pick