Through the first month of the 2025-26 NBA season, Deandre Ayton is looking like one of the biggest steals of the summer.

The Lakers split their $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception between Ayton ($8.1 million) and Jake LaRavia ($6.0 million), both of which seem like home runs early on. Ayton already has seven double-doubles in his first 14 games this year and is averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in only 30.4 minutes per game.

If Ayton keeps this up, he figures to decline his $8.1 million player option for the 2026-27 season to pursue a bigger payday next summer in free agency. Unlike this past offseason when the Brooklyn Nets were the only team with significant salary-cap space, six teams currently project to have at least $35 million of spending power next su

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