There are several holes still waiting to be plugged for the Los Angeles Lakers. Guard is not one of them. Despite that, Rob Pelinka's latest trade sent Deandre Ayton out of town for another player who would be slotting among the backcourt.
Shams Charania reported that Los Angeles is sending Ayton to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jaden Hardy, and two second-round picks (one in 2031 and another in 2032). That felt like the first step of a much bigger plan for the Lakers.
Notably, Los Angeles is not restricted to keeping Hardy in town. If they do, they would quickly be piling up players in the backcourt. Otherwise, NBA cap guru Yossi Gozlan pointed out the Lakers are free to start including their newly-acquired guard in trade packages immediately.
"The Lakers will be able to aggregate Jaden Hardy’s $6 million salary immediately in another trade if they acquire him while under the salary cap. He would have a two month aggregation restriction if acquired after doing all their cap space signings."
Lakers can trade Jaden Hardy as soon as today, if they want to
Trading Ayton for Hardy added about $2.1 million to the Lakers' spending power on the open market. Packaging him together as the sweetener with someone like Jarred Vanderbilt could help free up even more money for Los Angeles to continue its activity in free agency.
Finding a team with a trade exception that would be willing to absorb Vanderbilt's contract, along with Hardy and potentially a second-round pick, would be a no-brainer for the Lakers. That could give them access to doing a deal with a Rui Hachimura, Jonathan Kuminga, or maybe even both.
Why would Hardy lack staying power in Los Angeles? On top of the aforementioned surplus of guards, the now former Wizard just does not fit the profile of players that Pelinka and company have been pursuing in the 2026 offseason.
The Lakers have prioritized, to varying degrees, guys who play both ends of the basketball court. All of their new arrivals have places where they shine on the defensive end. Hardy does not.
Luke Kennard was given the green light to walk for nothing earlier this offseason, and the current Phoenix Suns wing is a much more capable defender than the newest Laker being discussed here. That should paint a clear picture.
There is no hard guarantee that Hardy gets traded. However, in his shoes, I would not unpack his belongings in a new Los Angeles home just yet.
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