Mar 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Christian Koloko (10), guard Gabe Vincent (7), forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2) and guard Luka Doncic (77) defend a drive by Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

New Report Reveals Nuggets, Knicks Interest In Recent Lakers Signing

Originally posted on Denver Nuggets on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 3:14 PM ET

NBA free agency has cooled down since the first two days, in large part due to a majority of the top players having already come off the board. There are still key free agents such as Chris Paul, Al Horford, and Jonathan Kuminga on the board, but there's no telling when any of them will agree to a deal.

For the Los Angeles Lakers, they got what they were looking for in free agency, as the Portland Trail Blazers bought out Deandre Ayton, clearing the way for him to sign with the Lakers on a two-year deal. While it was expected for Ayton to make the move to LA, a new report from HoopsHype reveals several other teams that expressed "exploratory" interest in the former first-overall pick.

DeAndre Ayton is expected to sign with the Lakers, per @ChrisBHaynes

LA gets their big man pic.twitter.com/V75C3LiFzD
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 2, 2025

According to Michael Scotto , "Ayton received exploratory interest from the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Milwaukee Bucks (before agreeing to a deal with Myles Turner)."

The Pacers were a team that gave Ayton an offer sheet in the 2022 offseason, but the Phoenix Suns ended up matching it. As for the Knicks, this report reveals they still have a desire to add big man talent, a problem that arose during the postseason.

Deandre Ayton last season:

• 14.4 PPG
• 10.2 RPG
• 3.1 OREB
• 1.0 BLK
• 9th in the league for shooting around the rim (74%)
• 2nd in put back scoring
• 96.2% shooting on alley-oops

How will Ayton do in his first season as a Laker?

️ via @BenjayCreates pic.twitter.com/CiQCu3tQkT
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) July 4, 2025

For the Nuggets, they thought they had solved their reserve big problem once they added Jonas Valančiūnas via trade with the Sacramento Kings. However, recent reporting reveals that he could be headed to Greece, meaning Denver would be back on the market for a big.

This article first appeared on Denver Nuggets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: