The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to buy out the final year of center Deandre Ayton’s contract, making him a free agent, an NBA source has confirmed to the Oregonian/OregonLive.
ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the news Sunday night.
The Blazers acquired Ayton just before training camp in 2023 in a deal that sent center Jusuf Nurkic and others to the Phoenix Suns for Ayton and forward Toumani Camara.
While Camara has developed into an elite defender, Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick during the 2018 NBA draft, never found his footing with the Blazers.
So much so that the franchise has selected a center in the first round of the past two drafts. The Blazers selected Donovan Clingan with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft. Last week, they picked Yang Hansen with the No. 16 pick.
The Yang selection left the Blazers with five centers on the roster. Now they have four, although the final year of Duop Reath’s contract is not guaranteed.
Ayton was the centerpiece of a series of trades that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
At the time, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin referred to Ayton, 26, as a top-five center with room for growth.
But that growth never materialized in Rip City. Ayton was far from a poor performer. He averaged 16.1 points and 11.1 rebounds during his first season. Last season, he put up 14.4 points with 10.2 rebounds.
(more to come)
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)