According to Reuters, Deandre Ayton, the center for the Los Angeles Lakers, was briefly held and subsequently freed on Tuesday due to an alleged minor marijuana possession at the Lynden Pindling International Airport located in the Bahamas.
He was expected to be traveling back to the United States from his home country, the Bahamas, as the NBA All-Star hiatus drew to a close.
An initial account from TMZ stated that the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s central division asserted that a search was conducted on Ayton after he was observed consuming marijuana at the airport. Reuters additionally indicated that the substance, which remains illicit in the Bahamas, was discovered in his possession.
Nevertheless, his legal counsel, Devard Francis, communicated through Reuters that the alleged cannabis was, in fact, located in another individual’s luggage, and that Ayton faced neither arrest nor formal charges:
“Even though the investigators observed that the truly minuscule quantity of cannabis was not inside Deandre’s bag, they nonetheless proceeded with their inquiries, and he was promptly released,” Francis said.
Ayton, who was once the top selection in the draft, is currently playing his inaugural season for the Lakers, an organization that secured him with a contract valued at $16.6 million over two years. Prior to the All-Star recess, he was achieving an average of 13.2 points with a 67.5% field goal percentage and leading the team with 8.5 rebounds per contest.
