FILE - Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) vie for the ball in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Feb. 10, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Center Deandre Ayton has agreed to join the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal could not yet be announced between the Lakers and Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft — two spots ahead of Luka Doncic.

The Portland Trail Blazers bought out Ayton's contract last weekend, and he has agreed to join Doncic and LeBron James on a one-year deal with a player option for 2026-27. He will be paid more than $25 million by the Blazers while playing for the Lakers in the upcoming season.

Ayton's arrival fills the Lakers' most glaring offseason need. He will provide a lob target for James and Doncic while adding the defensive size in the middle that they have missed since trading Anthony Davis to Dallas for Doncic.

Ayton spent his first five NBA seasons with Phoenix before joining the Trail Blazers two years ago. He struggled in Portland while playing for mediocre teams, but he has averaged 16.4 points and 10.5 rebounds during his seven seasons while making 59% of his shots.

The Lakers struggled without Davis in the paint last season, with Jaxson Hayes playing poorly enough to get benched by coach JJ Redick in the final games. Los Angeles was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by Minnesota in five games, with big man Rudy Gobert racking up 27 points and 24 rebounds in the clinching victory while the Lakers largely played without a center.

___

AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA