Deandre Ayton is finalizing a contract buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers and is set to be a free agent, reported ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Ayton and his representatives reached out to the Blazers about the buyout due to Ayton wanting to play in a “winning situation,” according to Charania. Ayton had $35.6 million remaining on his max contract that would’ve ended next summer.
The 2018 No. 1 overall pick was a Phoenix Sun for five seasons and was a key member of the 2020-21 squad that made the NBA Finals. He is Phoenix’s first ever No. 1 overall pick.
The former Arizona Wildcat had a decent tenure with the Suns, averaging 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds across five seasons in Phoenix.
He showed promise early on, earning a 2018-19 All-Rookie Team nod, but was never able to capitalize on his lofty No. 1 overall pick expectations.
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Ayton was not extended after that NBA Finals run in 2021 and then nearly left Phoenix in the summer of 2022 after signing a four-year, $133 million maximum contract offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers. The Suns matched the contract to retain Ayton, but his play the following year regressed. He was ultimately benched by head coach Monty Williams in Game 7 of the 2022 Western Conference Semifinals.
The rift with then-coach Monty Williams leaked into the next season. He was again benched for backup big man Jock Landale in the conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets before ending that series — and his Suns tenure — injured and missing a deciding Game 6.
Ayton was ultimately traded just a year later to Portland in September 2023 in the three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Suns gave up Ayton and 2025 NBA All-Defensive Second-Teamer Toumani Camara — a 2023 second-round pick — to Portland and received Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.
Allen is the only player among the Suns’ returning trade haul who is still with the team after the release of Johnson, the stretch-and-waive of Little and Nurkic’s trade to the Charlotte Hornets in February.
Ayton’s time in Portland drew mixed reviews. His stats were on par with his career averages, but questions about his effort, a missed game because of icy roads and a back injury caused by sleeping on an air mattress helped define his tenure there.
Ayton played a respective 55 and 40 games in his two seasons with the Blazers. Across 40 games last year, Ayton averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds with a 56.6% field goal percentage.
Ayton’s departure means a reshaped center room for the Blazers who have invested high draft picks for the position in recent years.
Donovan Clingan, the Blazers’ seventh overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, and Yang Hansen, their recent 2025 draft selection with the No. 16 pick, will replace Ayton’s playing time in the lineup. The Blazers also have centers Robert Williams III and Duop Reath under contract.
Ayton, who turns 27 next month, will have the chance for a fresh start. He is free to sign with any team, which includes teams in both salary cap aprons.
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