NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
Last season, Lakers Nation was the latest fan base to talk itself into the potential of Deandre Ayton before the season, only to watch reality unfold. He was inconsistent but generally fine, although clearly not the guy they needed as a two-way center next to Luka Doncic.
The Lakers are now trading Ayton to the Washington Wizards for guard Jaden Hardy and two Wizards second-round picks in 2031 and 2032, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Advertisement
This trade doesn’t make immediate sense for Washington, where Ayton will come off the bench, backing up Alex Sarr and Anthony Davis as the starting bigs. With those two bigs on the books, did the Wizards need to put in two picks to take on more money for a backup center?
Last season, Ayton was up and down — as he has been throughout his career — and averaged 12.5 points and eight rebounds per game. Ayton, the 27-year-old former No. 1 pick, picked up his player option for $8.1 million for the coming season.
The Lakers traded for Walker Kessler and are paying him big money (four years, $130 million) to be the center of the future next to Doncic. With Jaxson Hayes now in Utah, the Lakers will look to the market for a backup for Kessler, with Charania mentioning Andre Drummond, Jonas Valanciunas and Kevon Looney. The Lakers need to get the backup big right, as Kessler played just five games last season due to shoulder surgery and 58 the season before that.
The Lakers also get Hardy, 24, who played a limited role in Dallas to start last season but was sent to Washington as part of the Anthony Davis trade. With the Wizards, he played about 20 minutes a night off the bench in 23 games and averaged 12.6 points a game, shooting 42% from 3-point range. He will get a chance for backcourt minutes off the bench for the Lakers.
Advertisement
He’s also making just $6 million this season, saving the Lakers a little money. Hardy has a team option for $6 million for the 2027-28 season.
The Lakers, nearly devoid of draft picks after the Kessler trade, add a couple of second-rounders to help fill out their stockpile. They may need those picks if they want to trade someone like Dalton…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-reportedly-trade-deandre-ayton-180941790.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-07-03 18:09:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
