The Lakers quietly completed the big operation! Signing Ayton, the 216cm center became the puzzle of the championship, the Jazz caught off guard

According to well-known journalist Shams Charania, DeAndre Aiton has reached a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers with an annual salary of about $8 million. It is worth noting that Ayton can still receive more than $20 million in salary from the Portland Trail Blazers while receiving a new contract.

This contract has had a significant impact on the alliance trading market. The Utah Jazz's originally planned trade negotiations with the Lakers about Walker Kessler were forced to be suspended. The Jazz reporter revealed that the team management was disappointed with the result and believed that the best trading opportunity was missed. As a 23-year-old potential center, Kessler was once regarded as the ideal target for the Lakers with his height of 216cm and his outstanding performance of 11 points, 12 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. According to former Lakers reporter Jovan Buha, the Jazz's previous deal asking price was two first-round picks and one young player, and this high asking price eventually led to the failure to reach the deal.

The termination of this transaction negotiation reflects the balance between maintaining salary space flexibility and acquiring high-quality players. The team chooses to reinforce through free markets rather than overdraft future draft picks in limited assets, and this decision will affect its subsequent lineup building strategy.

In the current NBA trading environment, the Los Angeles Lakers are limited by their capita space and it is difficult for Kessler to complete the trading operation. The real business difficulties is Jazz general manager Danny Angie, the legendary manager who successfully formed the three Celtics giants, and his operational decisions have been repeatedly questioned in recent years.

Player assets are improperly disposed of: Markkanen's transaction value is difficult to achieve due to Anji's excessive asking price. The 28-year-old player's contract with an average of US$50 million per year for the remaining four years has become a heavy burden, and it may require additional first-round picks to complete the transaction in the future.

Asset loss risk: Clarkson left the team freely due to the expiration of the contract, resulting in the Jazz's failure to obtain any compensation, highlighting the management's mistakes in player value assessment and trading timing. Historical comparison shows that Angie completed several successful transactions during her Celtics, but after she became general manager of the Jazz, her operating strategy was as sluggish as the team's record. This ongoing operational mistake could seriously affect the Jazz's reconstruction process in the next decade. Market observers suggest that Angie should rationally evaluate Kessler's trading value and accept the Lakers' offer plan that includes a first-round pick to avoid ending up in a more passive situation. Judging from the market development trend, Kessler's joining the Lakers may be the most likely trading result.