Former No. 1 overall draft pick Deandre Ayton was an unexpected late addition to free agency after negotiating a contract buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 7-foot center out of Arizona, still just 26, work out his welcome after just two seasons with the tanking Trail Blazers. Portland ultimately negotiated a buyout of Ayton's expiring $35.6 million contract for the 2025-26 season. Ayton gave up $10 million in the offing, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line — that's a number he should make up in free agency.
The Boston Celtics, of course, now desperately need a center, having salary-dumped rim-rolling starter Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks and having watched backup Luke Kornet walk to the San Antonio Spurs in free agency. Another free agent, Al Horford, remains unsigned, and has been linked to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers in recent days.
So far, the Celtics have pivoted to inking Luka Garza on a two-year, veteran's minimum deal. But they do need more big man help.
According to The Athletic's Jason Quick, Ayton's behavior around the team had so frustrated Portland that the team had decided a divorce was necessary, even if it meant a buyout instead of a trade.
"But in the end, they couldn’t live with his bad ways," Quick writes. "The tardiness to team flights and practices, according to a team source. The skipping of rehabilitation appointments. Fans saw him slam chairs when he was taken out of games. And a team source said there were tantrums in the locker room when he was sidelined for poor effort."
In his 95 healthy games for the Trail Blazers (out of a possible 164), Ayton notched averages of 15.7 points, 10.7 boards, 1.6 dimes, 0.9 swipes and 0.9 rejections per.
Per Brian Robb of MassLive, Boston is not expected to have any interest in signing Ayton as a free agent