'He’s Been Labeled as a Diva' – Former NBA Player Reveals Claim About Former Blazers Center

As teams contemplate signing Ayton, former NBA player Kendrick Perkins revealed a shocking claim about the big man.

“The word around the league is not good about Deandre Ayton. The Portland Trail Blazers were happy as hell that they got to this point with him,” Perkins said. “Right now, he’s been labeled as a diva, as a cancer in the locker room.

“If I’m Ayton, I gotta have a moment. I gotta have someone to speak real to me. Because we’re talking about a former No. 1 pick that didn’t work out with the Phoenix Suns, the team that drafted him. And now you get to the Portland Trail Blazers that were absolutely happy as hell to get him in the trade, they welcomed him with open arms. They thought he was going to be one of those guys for the future and now you get to this point.

“The next siguation or next organization that he lands to, even if it’s the [Los Angeles] Lakers, he has to change a lot about himself. Or he will find his career being shortened, and he will find himself out of the league.”

All signs point to the former Blazers center joining the Lakers

There’s a significant chance that the Los Angeles Lakers will land the former Blazers center, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. On Monday, Haynes reported that there’s a strong possibility that Ayton is the next starting center of the Lakers.

“That is a strong possibility, strong possibility,” Haynes said. “… If they’re able to land this, which again, sources have told me this is a strong possibility, you will pair him up with Luka Doncic, who was in his draft class.”

Ayton’s play style could be the perfect fit next to star guard Luka Doncic, who might benefit a lot from sharing the court with the former Arizona star.