The Phoenix Suns鈥 rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers just took an insane turn.
Former Arizona Wildcat Deandre Ayton has agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers after the Portland Trail Blazers bought him out.
鈥淟akers, I鈥橫 READY,鈥 Ayton wrote on his Instagram post Wednesday, July 2. 鈥淟et鈥檚 get to work.鈥
Ayton is set to make $34 million between the Lakers and Blazers, ESPN鈥檚 Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
Perhaps the most polarizing figure to play for Phoenix in recent memory is now with the Lakers.
Phoenix drafted Ayton out of Arizona with the top overall pick in the 2018 draft. He averaged a double-double in each of his five seasons with the Suns and played a key role in the Suns going from 19 wins in his rookie year in 2018-19 to reaching the NBA finals two seasons later.
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Now, Ayton is with his third NBA team 鈥 the Lakers 鈥 and teaming up with LeBron James, the NBA鈥檚 all-time leading scorer and to some, the greatest player of all time, along with Luka Doncic.
For years, fans passionately debated whether the Suns should鈥檝e drafted Doncic instead of Ayton with the top pick. Doncic is a five-time All-NBA first team selection. Now, Ayton and Doncic are teammates with James, making the Lakers a championship contender and addressing a need at center.
When JJ Redick was on ESPN鈥檚 First Take as an analyst prior to becoming Lakers鈥 coach, he raved about Ayton in a debate with now former NBA player Patrick Beverley, after Dallas eliminated the Suns in the 2022 Western Conference semifinals.
鈥淎yton鈥檚 fantastic,鈥 Redick said.
Beverley responded with, 鈥淗e鈥檚 OK.鈥
Redick paused and then proceeded to break down what Ayton does best in his opinion.
鈥淗e鈥檚 fantastic at punishing mismatches in the two-man pick-and-roll with CP (Chris Paul),鈥 Redick said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the No. 1 duo among high-volume pick and roll players. So, he is fantastic.鈥
Now Redick will be coaching Ayton.
As for the Suns, they鈥檙e coming off a 36-win season, have traded Kevin Durant and are a long way from when Ayton was in Phoenix.
Ayton averaged 16.7 points on 59.7% shooting and 10.5 rebounds in his five seasons with the team. He was instrumental in Phoenix reaching the 2021 finals and will be forever remembered for his 鈥淰alley Oop鈥 dunk off a Jae Crowder inbounds pass from the baseline with 0.7 seconds left to win Game 2 over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference finals.
However, Ayton was also inconsistent and had stretches of poor play. He had a heated exchange with former Suns head coach Monty Williams during Game 7 of the 2022 conference semifinals, in which Phoenix lost to Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
He finished his time in Phoenix injured as the Suns lost to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets. With new team owner Mat Ishbia, Williams was fired and Ayton was traded to the Blazers right before the 2023 training camp in a three-team deal.
The Suns acquired 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic, who they later traded to Charlotte before the 2025 trade deadline.
Ayton鈥檚 time in Portland didn鈥檛 fare nearly as well as his stint in Phoenix.
Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) vie for the ball in the second half on Feb. 10, 2025, in Denver.
He continued to average a double-double in each of his two seasons, but the Blazers won a total of just 57 games. Ayton battled injuries, playing a total of 95 games, but didn鈥檛 reach his full potential. He averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds last season.
The Blazers decided to move forward without him as they have their center of the future in Donovan Clingan, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 draft out of UConn.
They bought Ayton out, and now he鈥檚 joining the Lakers.
