The Portland Trail Blazers are set to buyout the contract of their center, Deandre Ayton.

ESPN’s Shams Charania shared the news via X.

The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft will now hit free agency, which is set to begin on Monday.

Ayton was currently under a four-year, $132 million contract that he originally signed with the Phoenix Suns. The 26-year-old was heading into the final year of the deal. He was owed $35 million this season.

This buyout is now set to give Ayton a fresh new opportunity — both for himself and for the Blazers, who have three young and reliable centers already on their roster. Among the teams expected to show interest in Ayton are the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Milwaukee Bucks, to name a few.

Ayton is coming off an injury-riddled season with the Blazers. He was limited to just 40 games this past season. In that span, he averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 blocks while shooting 56.6 percent from the field and 59.4 percent from the free-throw line in 30.2 minutes of action.

He was coming off his second season in Portland after being traded there as part of the blockbuster three-team deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Bucks. Ayton, Toumani Camara, and a 2029 first-round draft pick were traded to the Trail Blazers alongside Jrue Holiday, as part of a three-team trade that sent Lillard to Milwaukee and Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little, and Keon Johnson to the Suns.

Ayton was drafted by the Suns No. 1 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. At the time,he was viewed as the clear-cut No. 1 pick coming off a steallr season in Arizona. As a Wildcat, he was named a Consensus first-team All-American, won the Karl Malone Award, Pac-12 Player of the Year, First-team All-Pac-12, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was named Pac-12 tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Now a free agent, Ayton will have no shortage of suitors — and it’ll be interesting to see where he ultimately ends up. Still just 26, he has plenty left in the tank, and all eyes will be on the kind of role he carves out with his next team.

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