.jpg)
1 hour ago
4
Last Friday, ESPN’s Shams Charania announced the Los Angeles Lakers were partnering to complete an eyebrow-raising deal with the Washington Wizards.
While it was clear the deal couldn’t be completed until July 6, it was still worthwhile to analyze the transaction details.
The trade sent the Lakers’ 7-foot nightmare center Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards for Luka Doncic's former Dallas Mavericks sharpshooting teammate Jaden Hardy, and two second-round picks. The Lakers officially announced the deal in Tuesday night's press release.
“Lakers officially announce the Jaden Hardy trade,” Offside’s Anthony Irwin wrote on X/Twitter while sharing a screenshot of the new press release.
The Lakers' decision to move on from Ayton proves the franchise knew they couldn’t succeed in the long term with the former No. 1 overall pick operating in either a starting or bench role. Ayton’s 2025-26 season was one long disaster, as the franchise was forced to resort to several motivational techniques to nudge the 27-year-old in the right direction.
That shouldn’t be the case in the big leagues, regardless of their contributor, as high-energy performances are a large part of being a successful pro. The Lakers’ tactics clearly didn’t work, as Ayton failed to keep his motor running in Los Angeles from start to finish, despite possessing the talent to dominate on the interior regularly.
The Arizona product finished the year with 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, shooting 67.1% from the field in 72 contests.
Regarding Hardy, the Lakers made a conscious effort to add a legitimate three-point shooter with valuable experience sharing the floor with Doncic. The 24-year-old averaged 9.2 points with the Mavericks and Wizards in Year 4, connecting on 42.4% of his field goals and 39.7% of his three-point jumpers.
It’ll be interesting to see how Los Angeles fares following the trade.
More NBA news:
English (US)