@basketballtalk
Lakers get their center, agree to two-year contract with former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton
He was the best available option on the free agent center market, and he’s a great fit on paper. But being a great fit on paper may be the story of Ayton’s career.
nbcsports.com/nba/news/laker… – 7:05 PM

Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
Day 2 of 2025 Free Agency is in the books.
We break down every move from Duncan Robinson to Jonas Valančiūnas, the latest on Al Horford and Deandre Ayton, and which FAs still remain.
Subscribe with 35% off your first year with code mockoffseason2025
duncdon.supportingcast.fm – 12:29 AM

Arash Markazi @ArashMarkazi
I’m LIVE on the @SportingTrib’s X talking about NBA free agency, where Damian Lillard might end up and could he be in LA, when will Chris Paul sign with the Clippers, when will Deandre Ayton sign with the Lakers and who has the best chance to win a title? x.com/i/broadcasts/1… – 12:17 AM

Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
The cleanest LeBron trade, to me, would be with the Knicks.
The Lakers need wings and bigs. Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson all have two or fewer years left on their deals. They’d all fit on a Luka-centric roster (though Hart’s shooting would hurt). – 5:05 PM

Bobby Manning @RealBobManning
Love Luka Garza. Phenomenal college player. Hasn’t stuck in the pros yet but he’s immensely skilled on offense. Defense a challenge. Probably not a long term option. – 8:09 PM

When you see things happen like the Luka trade, right—it catches everybody off guard. What the f***. I was going to ask—what was your initial reaction to that? And it’s just like… do y’all hop in the owners’ group chat like, ‘Hey yo, what’s really going on?’ ’Cause y’all really kind of set the tone of how everybody has to conduct business going forward.” Wyc Grousbeck “Well, I—you know—I hate to… I don’t want to really pick on anybody, but I’ll give you an honest answer. I think if we traded somebody of that level—which we’re not—but if we were, we would call everybody. And it would probably leak out, but you just got to take it. And then you get five picks back. Or six. I mean, Bane got four picks and a swap. And they got like one pick—or maybe two. So, I mean, it just feels like… you know… Now they’re ending up with Cooper Flagg, but it’s not… it’s not all connected really that way. I don’t know. I just… I guess I feel like it must have been painful for them to do it. So, they didn’t want to let everybody know about it, probably. And that’s kind of human nature, I guess.” -via YouTube / July 2, 2025