Within a round-up of several trade and free agent rumors from various reporters, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports writes that Lakers center Deandre Ayton is expected to exercise his $8.1MM player option for 2026/27 to remain with the team.

The first overall pick of the 2018 draft, Ayton had an up and down first season in Los Angeles, making a career-high 72 regular season appearances and shooting a career-best 67.1% from the floor. However, his field goal attempts (8.3), points (12.5), rebounds (8.0) and minutes per game (27.2) were all career lows.

More to come…