As LeBron James dominated the news cycle regarding his future on the eve of NBA free agency, the Lakers retained a different piece of their lineup.
Deandre Ayton is picking up his player option for $8.1 million and returning to the Lakers, according to people not authorized to publicly discuss on decision.
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The 7-foot Ayton averaged career low in points (12.5), rebounds (8.2), minutes per game (27.2), but played a career-high 72 games and shot a career-best 67.1% from the field. He averaged 10.0 points and 9.6 rebounds in the playoffs.
As for James, he’s an unrestricted free agent who earned $52.6 million last season.
Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said during his season-ending press conference with the media in May that they would give James time away with his family to decide his future.
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But there has been so much speculation about James’ future, with the most persistent reports the Golden State Warriors are interested in signing James.
Several NBA executives told The Times they can see James staying with the Lakers on a one-year deal for $30 million if L.A. is willing to pay him that amount. Another executive said he could see James playing two more seasons. The executives could not discuss potential free agency moves publicly because of NBA rule restrictions.
“LeBron, we probably haven’t seen a player that has honored the game to the extent that he’s honored the game. He’s given so much to his teammates, to this organization,” Pelinka said back in May. “And the thing we want to do more than anything else is honor him back. And I think the first order of business there is allowing him to spend the time he needs to decide what his next steps are.”
The NBA free-agency period opens Tuesday at 3 p.m. PDT, allowing teams to officially begin negotiating. But contracts can’t be officially signed until the moratorium is lifted on July 6.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
