The Los Angeles Lakers are trading center Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards for guard Jaden Hardy and two second-round draft picks in 2031 and 2032, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.
Ayton served as the Lakers' starting center last season and recently exercised his $8.1-million player option for 2026-27.
However, Los Angeles later made a big splash in free agency with its acquisition of big man Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz.
The Lakers are now focusing on finding a backup for Kessler, with Andre Drummond, Jonas Valanciunas, and Kevon Looney among those in consideration, adds Charania.
Ayton joins a Wizards frontcourt that features Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr. He averaged career lows in points (12.5), rebounds (8.0), and free-throw percentage (64.5%) across 72 appearances last season.
The Sacramento Kings selected Hardy 37th overall in 2022 and subsequently dealt him to the Dallas Mavericks on draft night. The 23-year-old spent parts of four campaigns with Dallas before being acquired by Washington in February as part of the Wizards' trade for Davis.
Hardy averaged 12.6 points and shot 42% from deep over 23 appearances for the Wizards last season.
