Lakers trade Deandre Ayton to Wizards for Jaden Hardy, picks

The Lakers’ roster shuffling has continued with another trade that also lands them some sorely-needed draft capital.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN, LA is trading Deandre Ayton to the Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two second round picks.

Finally, Rob Pelinka got Anthony Davis his center.

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This deal will only open up about an extra $2 million in cap space for the Lakers. Hardy is making $6 million this season with a team option for $6 million next season. Ayton was set to make $8.1 million this season.

The likely aim of this deal was to acquire draft assets to move other contracts. The Lakers are still looking to add depth on the wing with Jonathan Kuminga among the most heavily mentioned names. Rui Hachimura also has not signed and could still be an option.

To do that, they will need to clear contracts off the books, which the addition of the two second round picks should help them do. In short, this feels like a precursor to another trade and then a free agent signing.

Ayton’s season in LA was underwhelming, but largely because he did not establish himself as the team’s center of the future. He still showed he can be a reliable rotation player and a starter on some teams, but he was not the rim-running, lob-catching center the team needed and certainly did not want to be Clint Capela this season.

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He did provide some memorable moments mostly off the court, though, including stories about crunk juice and talking about watching LeBron James on the court like it was a movie. He was also a big reason the Lakers beat the Rockets in the first round with his defense on Alperen Şengün.

Hardy averaged 12.6 points per game on 42% shooting in 23 games with the Wizards in the second half of last season. He did spend time in Dallas with Luka Dončić. However, as a guard in an already crowded backcourt, Hardy is likely going to be on the outside looking in.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-trade-deandre-ayton-wizards-171749763.html

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Publish date : 2026-07-03 17:17:00

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