3 reasons why Hornets must pursue Deandre Ayton after Blazers buyout

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3 reasons why Hornets must pursue Deandre Ayton after Blazers buyout

Jerry Donatien · ClutchPoints

Mon, Jun 30, 2025 ·

3 min read

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The post 3 reasons why Hornets must pursue Deandre Ayton after Blazers buyout appeared first on ClutchPoints .

After trading Jusuf Nurkic in exchange for Colin Sexton , the Charlotte Hornets are lacking a veteran center heading into the offseason. Their perfect replacement could have just recently hit the open market with Deandre Ayton 's recent buyout from the Portland Trailblazers.

Ayton averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds in 40 games for the Blazers last year. There's a logjam of bigs in Portland with 2024 lottery pick Donovan Clingan and 2025 first-round pick Yang Hansen, so Ayton's buyout was inevitable. Now that he's available, Charlotte could put a flyer out to go get the former No. 1 pick in the 2018 Draft for a few reasons.

Deandre Ayton fills the Hornets' need for size

The Charlotte Hornets traded away both Mark Williams and Nurkic early this offseason before free agency officially started. This leaves a few obvious holes in their depth at the five.

Drafting Ryan Kalkbrenner in the second round helps plug in one of the spots, but adding a veteran, starting-caliber big man still makes sense for the Hornets. Ayton brings two-way potential and can step outside and hit perimeter shots in a league that values stretch bigs.

Pairing up with LaMelo Ball in screen and rolls could give the Hornets a nice one-two punch with more options than usual. He can dive to the basket as a lob threat or pop out to hit that 15-footer or deeper depending on the coverage.

On the defensive end, he can move his fit and be a solid weakside helper. With Moussa Diabate and Kalkbrenner—two centers with little to no NBA experience, both Ayton and the Hornets would benefit here.

Deandre Ayton is perfect fit alongside LaMelo Ball, rest of Hornets' core

Again, on offense, Ball and Ayton's chemistry could be built up in a matter of minutes. Ayton has a soft touch around the rim. Plus, Ayton is only 26 years old.

Pairing that up with the core of Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel would benefit everyone. There's enough young talent on this team to potentially make a major jump next season if they play their cards right this offseason.

Getting Ayton onboard would jumpstart their rebuild and attempt to sneak into a play-in game. By his age, Ayton should be entering his prime soon, and he just spent two years in a place where he couldn't find his footing.

In fact, Portland drafted two first-round-caliber talents at center in back-to-back years. He should be motivated to step into a new situation and prove his worth again.

Deandre Ayton is affordable both financially and in calculated risks

The Hornets have done a solid job shedding contracts and drafting before free agency really kicks off, giving them flexibility to take a few swings. Deandre Ayton could be the first one. The Blazers paid him $35 million for his buyout, so he'll likely take a cheaper deal to land with a team.

Ayton will likely attract multiple suitors, like the Los Angeles Lakers and others. Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson has more wiggle room since they're around $25 million under the first apron.

The Hornets can overpay Ayton for a one-year contract and see how things pan out with him alongside the rest of their core. Consider it more of a trial run as the other young pieces develop. Best-case scenario: the Hornets slide into that Play-In spot and show massive improvements across the board. Worst case? They remain the same and draft another big in 2026.

The Hornets are in the fray of an Eastern Conference that is constantly fluctuating. The top-three teams aren't secure in those spots. And it's as wide open as it's ever been.

The spots at the bottom are open too given that everyone's making moves to try and compete for something. With the addition of Ayton, the Hornets could find themselves with one of the better offseasons in recent franchise memory.

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