Former Blazers Coach Advocated for Lakers to Sign Deandre Ayton

The Portland Trail Blazers made the decision to waive Deandre Ayton. They decided to buy him out, ending his short but embattled tenure in Portland. He had the worst season of his career.

Despite this, the rest of the NBA was very interested in signing Ayton as a free agent. Ayton turned into one of the best options at the center spot once he was waived.

In the end, he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers will use him as their starting center this year. In fact, a former Blazers coach advocated for him.

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Ayton ended up signing a two-year deal with the Lakers. According to NBA Insider Marc Stein, former Blazers coach Scott Brooks advocated for Ayton during the negotiations.

Brooks coached Ayton during his first year in Portland and liked enough of what he saw to convince Rob Pelinka to sign him. Ayton had several other suitors who were trying to bring him in.

Despite being a former number-one overall pick. Ayton still has a lot to prove in the NBA. His work ethic has been constantly questioned in the last couple of years with the Trail Blazers.

The Blazers were clearly done dealing with that from him and decided to move on from him. This is despite the fact that they are not a team that competed for a playoff spot last season.

Now, the Blazers will have two new centers that they will build around in Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen. Those two are going to be the primary centers moving forward.

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Portland couldn't find a trade partner for him, so they did the next best thing and bought him out. Ayton will get a fresh start in Los Angeles. Both parties got what they wanted.

It would be surprising to see Ayton become a major factor with the Lakers next season. His health has become a major question, as has his commitment to the game.

Portland is hoping to move on from this era rather quickly and have the two new centers develop nicely.

This past season with the Trail Blazers, Ayton averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. He shot 56.6 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from three.

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For more news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.