The holiday weekend brought great news for Los Angeles Lakers fans who can't stand Deandre Ayton (so ... pretty much all of them). According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Lakers traded Ayton and his $8.1 million salary for 2026-27 to the Washington Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two second-round draft picks (2031, 2032).
The Lakers just traded Deandre Ayton to the Wizards for Jaden Hardy
(Who is Jaden Hardy?)
Hardy is an extremely athletic, 6-foot-3 combo guard who played with Luka Doncic on the Dallas Mavericks. He is set to make $6 million this season and has a club option for the same amount in 2027-28.
Hardy is still quite young. He turned 24 on July 5. Hardy averaged 22.2 points per 36 minutes for Washington last year on 42% from 3. This is a very gifted athlete who was once viewed as a future cornerstone of Dallas before the entire franchise was uprooted.
Acquiring Hardy and draft capital while getting rid of Ayton was an awesome move by Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. I have no idea why the Wizards made this trade. Then again, they are the Wizards.
Lakers fans are delighted to see Deandre Ayton leave town
Lakers Nation was sick and tired of Ayton by the middle of last season, mostly due to his inconsistent effort. While Ayton was decent at times during the playoffs, he disappeared in certain games and, in general, cannot be relied upon to go to war on a nightly basis.
To make matters worse, Ayton has a habit of talking himself up and spewing delusional nonsense about his bloated opinion of his own basketball value. It can be humorous at times, but the problem is that Ayton is never joking.
The Lakers needed Ayton to be an energy guy who just brought his hard hat to work every day and hit the glass. Ayton wanted to be a featured offensive player whose emotional ups and downs matter to fans as if he were a superstar. He's ultimately a negative asset for any team he joins. Lakers fans have been dreaming about replacing him for months.
Deandre Ayton won't be remembered fondly by Lakers fans
Now that the Lakers have Walker Kessler, they don't have to worry about the center position (that is, until Kessler's next inevitable injury).
In stark contrast, Ayton's time in Lakerland had fans constantly worried about the position and wondering if it would ultimately doom LA in the postseason. In the end, the Lakers had far more problems than just Ayton, but he never exactly helped matters. In fact, he often caused recurring trauma for Lakers fans who were hoping he'd finally deliver on his potential instead of just disappointing again and again. Goodbye, Deandre. And good luck. You will need it.
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