Deandre Ayton AGREES to a 2-year deal with Lakers | Are the Lakers now a bigger threat in the West?

Deandre Ayton AGREES to a 2-year deal with Lakers | Are the Lakers now a bigger threat in the West?

We’ve got breaking news out of the NBA. Free agent center DeAndre Aiden is expected to sign with the Lakers. According to multiple reports, he finalized a buyout with the Trailblazers on Sunday and has officially cleared waiverss. The former number one overall pick spent the past two seasons in Portland, averaging just under 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. So, he now joins the Lakers team looking to contend for a title with LeBron James and Luca Donuch. should take a look at what the potential starting five could look like. It does look a little different from a year ago, but uh certainly could be a missing piece for the Lakers in 2025. And we continue to react to this news with our Ashley Nicole Moss. Ashley, all day long you have been telling me that the Lakers need a center. They got a center in DeAndre Aton. I’m just curious your reaction. Is this the one you were thinking that might be the missing piece?
Yeah, I mean the missing piece is is a strong phrase. I don’t know if I say this makes the Lakers a championship contender. I’m not even sure this makes them a conference finals contender for a multitude of reasons. Obviously, DeAndre and you mentioned all of his statistics and also he has a career average of 16 and a half 10 and a half rebounds on almost 60% shooting. But if we’re going to be realistic, I still think that the Lakers need some 3 and D players. I think that maybe they could utilize getting another big man in some way, shape, or form. Obviously, getting your starter center. I’ve been saying this the entire time, desperately helps Luca and desperately helps this starting unit. The thing is is though, what is the goal of the Los Angeles Lakers? And the biggest question mark really is about LeBron James and ultimately what his future is going to be like. Um, that’s a conversation obviously we can have another time. But I do think DeAndre Aen is the piece that they needed to at least be in a better position than they were just a few hours ago and they did what they needed to do. It was between DeAndre Aan and Al Horford. Those were the names that were circulating. Those were the names that were available on the free agent market and they went with the one that they can feel like they get the most return on their investment and that is DeAndre A. And so the move was made and hopefully it’s beneficial for what the Lakers are trying to do and that’s win and that’s the focus, right? This all hinges upon the Lakers getting back to a championship team. I know you say it doesn’t move the needle for you, but it is a move. So when we saw that starting five up there, what else is missing for you from this Lakers squad? What else do they need to do? What can they do to make you feel a little more confident? That’s the key, right? What can they do? And LeBron James, $53 million. He’s opted in. And that takes up a lot of the availability, financial availability of the Lakers to really do much of anything. And they don’t have much capital outside of those two guys there. And that’s Luca and LeBron. And obviously Luca is somebody who they vision envision their future with after LeBron ultimately decides whether or not he’s going to remain a Laker, retire, whatever his future holds. The next iteration of this team is going to be around that guy right there, Luca um Luca Don. So we have to figure out exactly what the goal of this Lakers team is. Like I said, I do think they need some more 3 and D players. Um, but their hands are kind of tied as long as LeBron is on this roster, which then makes you wonder what this move is actually meaning and and the smoke and the mirrors and the writing on the wall and the message in a bottle, however you want to say it. And it all surrounds LeBron. Is he going to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers? Is he satisfied with this move? Does this move move him in believing more this team can win? Are the Lakers starting to envision life without LeBron? And if that’s the case, are they gonna trade him? Are they gonna let him walk? There’s a lot of question marks and although this is a good move for them going into next season, those questions still have yet to be answered by the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James.
Yeah, I was going to say we know that Savannah James is like, wrap it up. It’s time.
I’m sure she’s been ready to go back at the house. Um, going back to DeAndre Aiden for just a minute here for a player who I think a lot of people forgot about that this was the number one overall pick the same year that Luca Donuch was also drafted. So, those two now link up. Um, but an interesting storyline to follow here is kind of like that revenge tour, right? He was one of the first pieces to fall with that Suns team and so now he links up with a Lakers team that maybe doesn’t have a lot of expectations to your point here. How can he sort of revamp his career in LA?
Just go out and be the player that a lot of people expected him to be in Phoenix and then in Portland. Both of those didn’t pan out. Obviously, in Phoenix, it was even a deeper issue because of the contention, the alleged contention I should say, between him and Monty Williams, and it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. So, now it’s kind of rising from the ashes, or at least the opportunity to do so in a market that’s going to have a lot of eyes on them as they always do, but particularly this season because of all the uncertainty surrounding LeBron James and his future. So DeAndre Aan needs to be part of the solution and not the problem. And the way you can do that, you just go out there and play basketball. You play your best possible basketball so that when the chaos starts to emerge once again, because it’s the Los Angeles Lakers and this is no shade. As a Knicks fan, I know drama follows us and that just happens when you are a big market team. The drama will figure out a way to find you. He’s not the problem. He’s not the drama. He is just out there playing good basketball. and whatever ensumes after this is not going to be on him.
So, put your GM hat on us for a second here because we’re trying to figure out how the Lakers can contend with teams like the Thunder, right? We had that whole conversation earlier about how they can get there. So, put your GM hat on us. Put your GM hat on for us for a second here. When you’ve got LeBron, you mentioned that it could potentially, you know, maybe be a bigger move elsewhere.
Is that something that you’re considering when it comes to LeBron? you want to get this current Lakers team into a situation where they’re contending in 2025, how big of a decision is really weighing on LeBron’s head?
I’m gonna be super honest. This team’s not going to contend. And and that’s just the realistic thing I can say. That’s the realistic take I can give everybody. And when you look at the state of the Western Conference, if this was the East, we’d be having a defin we’d be having a drastically different conversation. But this is the Western Conference and we’re talking about teams like the reigning champs in OKC. Memphis got a lot better. We’re talking about your Dallas Mavericks. We’re talking about the San Antonio Spurs. We’re talking about the Houston Rockets who look absolutely insane. I mean, there are just a long there’s a long list of teams that I get to before I get to the Los Angeles Lakers. I’m not saying they don’t have a chance to get into the playoffs. I think this is at best a first round exit. I would be surprised if they went deeper than that. This is just not a deep enough team. This is just not a talented enough team outside of of Luca and LeBron to compete with the talent in the rosters that exists in the conference that they share um that they share the space with. So for me, the future really of this Los Angeles Lakers team is post LeBron and that’s the realistic conversation to be having. And if I’m the Los Angeles Lakers, I’m figuring that out sooner rather than later because I don’t care what anybody says. I know a lot of people say, “Oh, well, LeBron’s going to be 41.” It is LeBron James. And if you ultimately make the move to trade him or he requests the trade, I don’t care what anyone says, you get a lot of bang for your buck. He is one of the greatest of all time, the GOAT if you ask some people. Um, but he takes up a lot of cash and that’s limiting what this Lakers team can ultimately do now and in the future. Yeah, it is going to be interesting to see how the Lakers contend, especially when you think about the Western Conference and how tight it is as the top. We do know though that the Lakers have the fourth best odds when it comes to the postseason. Ashley doesn’t see it, but
that’s on the strength of LeBron and Luca.
And there’s no way
what I mean when you see this here, Lakers come in fourth shortest odds. I mean, even that does that ranking check the box for you? I literally just and I even forgot the Nuggets. I just named five teams and adding the Nuggets, that’s six. That’s every single playoff spot that there is in the Western Conference before I got to the Lakers. I am sorry LeBron and Luca, this is no disrespect. I have the most respect for both of those guys, but there is no way that they are fourth. No way. All right. Well, all I’m looking at is the Mavs. 21 to1 odds, baby. We are on the up and up. Ashley Nico joining us reacting to DeAndre Aton news that he has been uh sent to LA. By the way, it’s a two-year deal with a player option included in that deal.

Ashley Nicole Moss joins CBS Sports HQ to react to Deandre Ayton agreeing to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CBSSports

WATCH
CBS Sports HQ: https://www.cbssports.com/live/
Paramount Plus: https://www.paramountplus.com

FOLLOW US ON:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CBSSports/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cbssports/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/CBSSports

#nba #breakingnews #losangeleslakers #deandreayton