Less than a week after opting into his $8.1-million player option with the Lakers, Deandre Ayton is leaving Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt Ayton to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jaden Hardy and two Wizards second-round picks in 2031 and 2032, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Friday.
The move comes shortly after the Lakers made a huge swing for their centre of the future by acquiring Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz for two first-round picks.
Ayton joined the Lakers as a free agent ahead of last season on a two-year, $16.2 million contract, including the player option, after he was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 27-year-old averaged 12.5 points and eight rebounds with the Lakers, both career lows, but finished with a career-high 67.1 field goal percentage, mostly working as a play-finisher for gifted offensive table-setter Luka Doncic.
Drafted first overall by the Phoenix Suns in 2018 — the same year Doncic went third — Ayton has averaged 15.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists over his eight-year career, split between the Suns, Blazers and Lakers.
