American News: The Cavaliers and Nuggets Pacers and other top five teams have pursued Ayton, but he chose the Lakers because of Doncic

LeiSports July 5th According to the latest report by Michael Scotto, the Lakers, the Pacers, Nuggets, Cavaliers, Knicks and the Bucks have expressed interest in DeAndre Aiton. In the end, Ayton chose the Lakers because of Luca Doncic.

Earlier, Michael Scotto wrote in his latest report: "Before joining the Lakers, DeAndre Ayton received preliminary inquiries from teams such as the Pacers, Knicks, Nuggets, Cavaliers and Bucks (the Bucks later reached an agreement with Miles Turner), but finally decided to join the Lakers."

"Ayton did this because he ultimately believed that the Lakers were the best team for him at the basketball level, and at the same time he could join forces with Luca Doncic - in Ayton's eyes, Doncic is the best NBA playmaker, and the two are about the same age."

In addition, Michael Scotto also added: "During his time with the Suns, Ayton had been partnering with point guards such as Chris Paul and Ricky Rubio and now he hopes to rebuild this kind of coordination with Doncic."

It is worth mentioning that Doncic and Ayton have the same agent. Ayton was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, while Doncic was selected as Tanhua in the same year. In the 40 games he played for the Trail Blazers last season, Ayton averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, shooting 56.6% from the field and free throw percentage of 66.7%.

Doncic is expected to sign a contract renewal with the Lakers for up to 4 years and $229 million on August 2. This superstar can also choose to sign a two-year short contract. After 10 years of age in 2028, he will sign a five-year super maximum salary contract with a salary cap of 35% to maximize his professional income.

Doncic was traded to the Lakers by the Mavericks last season, and averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game in the games he played for the Purple and Gold Army. In the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he averaged 30.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.