Leading up to the NBA Draft many predictions had the Portland Trail Blazers picking Carter Bryant in the first round, doubling up on the number of former Wildcats they’d have for the upcoming season. The Blazers went elsewhere with that draft choice but ended up signing Caleb Love to a two-way contract as a rookie free agent.
But Love may be the only ex-UA star to play for Portland in 2025-26.
NBA insider Shams Charania is reporting that center Deandre Ayton, the former No. 1 overall pick in 2018, is “finalizing a contract buyout” with the Blazers and become a free agent.
The 26-year-old Ayton is currently owed $35.5 million for the final year the 4-year, $132.9 million contract he signed with the Phoenix Suns—who drafted him—in 2022. A year later Phoenix traded him to Portland in a 3-team deal that also included the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ayton spent the past two seasons with the Blazers but played in only 95 combined games, averaging career lows in points (14.4) and rebounds (10.2) in 2025-26 while shooting a career-low 56.6 percent.
Portland started rookie center Donovan Clingan in 37 games last season and plan to build around him and other young bigs, per Charania.
The 7-foot, 250-pound Ayton spent one season at the UA, where he was Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2017-18 in averaging 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds. His brief time with the program was clouded by an unsubstantiated report from ESPN that then-coach Sean Miller had paid him $100,000 to play for the Wildcats, a sum that seems piddly compared to what top college basketball players are legally getting paid nowadays.