The Los Angeles Lakers roster is beginning to come together around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as the team has been able to add Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Quentin Grimes since the start of free agency.
The Lakers used nearly all off their cap space and trade assets to make those moves, making it a challenge to build out the rest of the roster. It appears the Lakers are not yet done though as according to Shams Charania of ESPN, they are trading Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards for Jaden Hardy and second-round draft capital:
Just in: The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two Wizards second-round picks in 2031 and 2032, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/bAEtSFpTNi
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2026
The Lakers will now focus on finding Walker Kessler's backup on the market — with centers such as Andre Drummond, Jonas Valanciunas and Kevon Looney among those being considered, sources said.
The Wizards took a patient approach to the start of free agency and now land a… https://t.co/3GEA9Wx7gY
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2026
Considering the Lakers are hard capped at the first apron and out of cap space, they were limited to veteran minimum contracts and trades as a way to fill out their roster. They were able to acquire some much-needed draft capital with this deal, which could free up the potential for other moves.
Recent reporting indicated that Ayton would be the Lakers’ backup center, although they now are obviously in the market for one with him headed to Washington. When Ayton chose to pick up his $8.1 million player option, the possibility of a trade was always there.
This move not only gives the Lakers a pair of second-round picks when their cupboard was otherwise bare, but it also saves them around $2 million as Jaden Hardy is set to make $6 million this upcoming season with a team option in 2027-28.
Hardy is a 6’3″ guard who played with Luka Doncic on the Dallas Mavericks and is coming off a season in which he averaged 9.2 points while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range on 4.6 attempts. He flourished after being traded to Washington, averaging 12.6 points while shooting 42% from 3 on six attempts. While he isn’t known as a defender, that is the type of outside shooting the Lakers have been looking for.
Now that this deal is done, the Lakers surely have more coming as they now are in need of a backup center. They are also said to be looking for a wing and have some trade ammo to use with the two second-rounders they received in this trade.
Lakers’ losses in free agency
With the Lakers bringing in so many new faces, they are naturally going to lose a lot of their own free agents. That is already underway as Marcus Smart is signing with the Houston Rockets, Luke Kennard is signing with the Phoenix Suns and Jaxson Hayes is signing with the Utah Jazz.
LeBron James has also let the organization know that he will be playing elsewhere next season, while Rui Hachimura is potentially departing in free agency as well.
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