The Los Angeles Lakers announced they have officially traded center Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards in exchange for guard Jaden Hardy and second-round draft picks in 2031 and 2032.
Last season, Ayton appeared in 72 games for the Lakers, all starts, and averaged 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 67.1% from the field. There was some belief that he could slot in as the Lakers’ backup center behind the newly acquired Walker Kessler, but that obviously won’t be the case as he heads to Washington to pair with another former Laker in Anthony Davis.
Hardy has been in the NBA for four years, spending most of his time with the Dallas Mavericks before being traded to the Wizards in the same deal that brought Davis to Washington. He has shown flashes of being an explosive scorer and shined in an increased role with the Wizards late last year.
In 23 games in Washington, Hardy averaged 12.6 points in just 20.4 minutes while shooting 42% on six attempts from 3-point range. For his career, Hardy has averaged 8.4 points on 42.5% shooting from the field and 38.6% from deep.
Hardy gives the Lakers another offensive weapon in the backcourt, capable of generating instant offense any time he takes the court. Along with other offseason additions in Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton, the Lakers have surrounded their backcourt duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves with multiple players who are capable of playing off the ball and taking advantage of the attention drawn from their stars, while also taking over and creating for themselves at times.
This move also saved the Lakers around $2 million in salary cap space and allowed them to acquire some much needed draft capital with the pair of second-round picks. The Lakers had emptied their draft chest in the deal to acquire Kessler, so getting a couple picks back in this deal could allow for them to be a bit more active on the trade market moving forward.
Luka Doncic reportedly ‘excited’ about Lakers’ offseason
This summer was one that the Lakers’ franchise had marked as the time to truly build the roster around Doncic and ultimately all of the moves are meant to maximize the superstar guard as he enters his prime.
In addition to trading for Kessler, as well as signing Grimes and Sexton, the Lakers also signed skilled big man Sandro Mamukelashvili and brought back Reaves on a new contract.. And the combination of all these moves reportedly has Doncic excited about next season.
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