Ayton exercised his $8.1 million player option Monday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.
This isn't a huge surprise, but it doesn't mean the Lakers won't try to flip him later on. During his debut season with the Lakers, he made 72 regular-season appearances with averages of 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks on 67.1 percent shooting from the field. As things stand heading into free agency, Ayton is penciled in as the starting center.