Deandre Ayton's contract buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers forfeited $10 million of his $35.6 million salary for the upcoming season. That buyout gave the Blazers just enough room to use the full MLE without going into the tax, which was used to bring back Damian Lillard.
In many ways, Lillard's shockingly becoming available bailed the Blazers out of their contradictory offseason. What once looked like a series of head-scratching moves has started to form into a cohesive plan, with Lillard being the final piece of the puzzle.
Lillard signing turns Blazers' confusing offseason into cohesive plan
Before the Lillard signing, Portland's decision to buy out Ayton was somewhat puzzling.