Deandre Ayton isn’t going anywhere. The Lakers center officially exercised his $8.1 million player option for the 2026-27 season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. That’s the decision the league expected, and it keeps the 27-year-old big man in Los Angeles for at least one more year.
Charania broke the news on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, writing that Ayton was opting in. If he had turned it down, he’d have hit free agency and tested a market that wasn’t exactly screaming his name. The Lakers got a solid backup plan at center last season, and Ayton clearly saw the value in running it back.
This past year with the Lakers, the former No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft averaged 12.5 points and eight rebounds a game while shooting 67.1 percent from the field. He played in 72 games. Those are decent numbers for a second option at the five, especially on a team that made a decent playoff run.
NBA insider Jake Fischer had reported Sunday that there were strong indications Ayton would stay put. Fischer’s sources pointed to the same conclusion: Ayton was leaning toward picking up the option instead of testing free agency. So the rumor mill was right on this one.
Ayton’s decision clears up at least one question for a Lakers team that has a lot of them. LeBron James’s future remains the big one, obviously. But locking in Ayton gives L.A. some stability in the frontcourt. He’s not the star he was drafted to be, but he’s a capable rotation piece who can eat minutes and finish around the rim.
The Lakers finished the 2025-26 season at 53-29, good for fourth in the Western Conference. They made it to the second round of the playoffs before getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ayton will get another year to build chemistry with the core and try to help the team push deeper into the postseason.
For Ayton, this is year eight in the NBA, and his second with the Lakers. The contract isn’t huge by league standards, but $8.1 million is a nice paycheck for a backup. And if he plays well, maybe he sets himself up for a bigger deal down the road. For now, he’s locked in and L.A. has one less thing to worry about this offseason.
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