Deandre Ayton remains biggest Lakers’ X-factor during offseason

Deandre Ayton was the Lakers’ biggest X-factor during the 2025-26 season that ended during the playoff’s second round after a four-game sweep by the Thunder.

And Ayton will remain that for the Lakers during the offseason until he makes the decision that’ll have a ripple effect on the team’s summer plans.

Ayton is one of three Lakers, along with Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart, who have a player option for the 2026-27 season. 

The expectation around the NBA is that Reaves will opt out of his $14.9 million option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. He’ll be eligible to sign a maximum five-year contract worth $241 million with the Lakers or a four-year, $178 million deal with another team.

Smart, who has a $5.4 million player option for 2026-27, should be able to sign a more lucrative deal this offseason — including one with the Lakers — if he opts out after having his best season in a few years.

But Ayton, and his $8.1 million player option, will be a pivot point for the Lakers’ offseason as he weighs his options after saying after the season ended that he didn’t know what decision he’d make.

“Just being honored and happy to be on this platform,” Ayton said. “And another chance, and all of that. There’s great players I learned [from] here. I haven’t really thought about nothing else, to be honest. I have a little break to myself.”

Ayton added: “I trust my agents. That’s about it. That’s really out of my hands; I love it here regardless. Fans and everybody that’s been around me, the coaching staff. They treat me like family.”

With the Lakers looking to “retrofit” the roster around superstar guard Luka Doncic, there’s a heightened spotlight on the team’s big man rotation — especially the starting center. 

Doncic has been at his best when playing alongside a rim-running, lob-threat center who’ll also protect the rim defensively, evident during his run to the 2024 NBA Finals when the Mavericks had a center rotation of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford.

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Ayton and his style of play don’t fit that archetype.

There was a push-pull dynamic between what Ayton had been and wanted to be versus what the Lakers needed from him throughout the season — which Ayton acknowledged after the Lakers’ playoff run ended. 

Ayton, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, is used to being the featured option within an offense and have the opportunities to impose his scorer’s mentality.

But that wasn’t what the Lakers needed from him most games. They needed his presence on the boards. A stout rim protector and defensive anchor. Even when his offensive touches were limited and consistently infrequent. 

This dynamic is why Ayton said he came to the Lakers with a “different mindset” and “had to adjust.” And why he referred to 2025-26 as “humbling.”

It reflected in his career-low averages of 12.5 points and eight rebounds. But to his credit, Ayton also shot a career-high 67.1% from the field. The Lakers were better at protecting the rim when Ayton was on the floor during the regular season and a significantly better rebounding team with Ayton playing during the playoffs. 

“I came in here with a scorer’s mentality, and we don’t really need that,” Ayton said. “We have the best players on the team and the best playmakers. Kind of had to break down my game where just rebounding, defending the rim was what the team wanted. It’s not what I want, but it’s what the team wanted the most.”

This is why he’s the X-factor for the Lakers’ offseason. 

If Ayton opts out and signs with another team, it would help open pathways for the Lakers to sign or acquire another starting center who is a better fit alongside Doncic. 

Ayton opting in or re-signing with the Lakers on another deal would make those pathways narrow and murkier.

It’s important to note that Doncic and Ayton are represented by longtime agent Bill Duffy of WME. And that Doncic recruited Ayton to the Lakers last summer after Ayton was bought out of his contract with the Trail Blazers. 

The Lakers have been searching for the right center to pair with Doncic since they acquired him last February. 

And they’re still searching.

How simple or complicated that search will be this summer will depend on Ayton.