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Jovan Buha: The funny thing is the Lakers are going to be trying to trade Jaden Hardy. So I don't know if Washington wants to take him back and what that price would… I mean are the Lakers just going to end up sending back the Wizards picks and get Coulibaly or Champagnie instead of Hardy, like that would kind of be funny, but I think those are a couple names that could make some sense.
As things have taken a new, difficult turn for the Lakers' young forward, Green pointed to Knecht's representatives as the reason behind his struggles in LA. "Dalton Knecht is not expected to make the Lakers' regular-season roster, as the team has 16 guaranteed contracts and can only carry 15. Apparently, Bronny James and Jaden Hardy have outplayed him in camp, making him the odd man out. It's crazy because Knecht seemed to have some promise, but after the trade that would have sent him to the Hornets and brought Mark Williams to the Lakers was voided, he has been in purgatory ever since," the Golden State Warriors star said on the latest episode of his The Draymond Green Show. "Ultimately, I think it ruined him. I blame his agent because, the moment the trade fell through, the agent should have been working to get him out of LA."
Draymond Green: "Dalton Knecht is not expected to make the Lakers' regular season roster. Lakers have 16 guaranteed contracts and going into the season you can only have 15 guaranteed contracts. Apparently, Bronny James and Jaden Hardy have been outplaying him in camp and he's viewed as the odd man out. And it's crazy because Dalton Knecht seemed to like he had a little bit of promise to him, but after that trade that got voided by the Hornets to bring him in and send Mark Williams to the Lakers, the Lakers voided the trade because of Mark Williams' back. Dalton Knecht just been in purgatory ever since and ultimately I think it ruined him."
Bronny James is entering the most important training camp of his career. The Lakers have 16 players under contract; league rules allow only 15. He, Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy have club options for next season that are expiring deals. And while no one has seen the Lakers play so far this preseason — save for some team-approved clips here or there — the way the Lakers are talking, James has a place in what they’re trying to do. “I’m ready to get out there and play,” James said Monday.
NBA Trade Machine: Over the past 24 hours, Zeke Nnaji featured in 4.4% of trades built on HoopsMatic. Within his trades, he landed most often in Chicago (16.7%), LA Lakers (14.8%), and Charlotte (11.1%). Most often, he was traded for Stephen Curry (9.3%), Jaden Hardy (7.4%), and Khaman Maluach (7.4%).
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Their biggest run together came in 2024, when the Mavs reached the NBA Finals before losing to the Boston Celtics in five games. Hardy appeared in all five games of the series. "Whenever I was playing alongside Luka, he used to always instill confidence into the young players, tell them to keep going," Hardy said. "That helped me a lot when I was a rookie." "And playing alongside him then in my second year, when we went to the Finals, he was big for me during that time and during that stretch," he added. "He was someone that I could lean on and talk to."
The Lakers and Hawks talked sign-and-trade earlier this summer, but those talks stalled out because Atlanta is not looking to add salary (it is only $3.8 million below the luxury tax line, and Kuminga currently counts as zero for them). Or, at least Atlanta is not interested without a quality draft pick as an incentive, and the Lakers would not go there. Also, Atlanta currently has 17 players under contract heading into training camp and needs to shed at least two, not add players. The Lakers and Hawks are talking sign-and-trade again, with guard Jaden Hardy reportedly in the conversation (he makes $6 million this season), while previously that was Jared Vanderbilt ($12.4 million).
Brian Windhorst: There's still a window there for the Lakers to do a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade deal using Jaden Hardy. But my thing on the whole Jonathan Kuminga sign and trade thing is that for the Hawks to do a sign and trade, they're going to probably end up in the tax unless you can ship someone to a third team who has to be paid. And I've just been very doubtful that unless the Hawks are in love with the situation that they're going to end up, signing and trading Kuminga. The other thing with Kuminga is a sign and trade has to be three years. Doesn't have to be fully guaranteed, but it can't be player options. It'll be team options. And so, if Kuminga can't get a contract number that he likes in the first year, even if it's more money, this is one thing that Lakers fans, you know, the Lakers fans have been sort of putting Kuminga on their team in their head. And look, maybe it does get done, but Kuminga, he wouldn't control his contract. That first year salary, even if it's higher, would be less than he thinks his value is, right or wrong.
Dave McMenamin: ‘Between now and the start of the regular season, they could carry 16 players, they carry up to 20 through training camp, but through now to the start of the regular season, you got to get rid of a player. Whether that's going to be continuing to try to move someone like Jarred Vanderbilt or Dalton Knecht, that they've not had success with thus far, and they've quite frankly tried for a while here, or could it be someone like Jaden Hardy who was picked up in the Deandre Ayton deal that was really more about trying to get some draft assets from Washington and move off of Ayton to make room for your new centers with Kevon Looney and Walker Kessler than it was about necessarily Hardy. That's one thing that absolutely has to happen. So that means their work's not done.’
Khobi Price: What I want to make clear is that the Lakers are more than happy to keep Bronny James. Like they've they've drafted him in the second round two years ago. They developed him. They're a fan of him. They're he has a lot of people who like him within the building so it's not going to be one of those situations where ‘oh yeah, they're just going to send Bronny to wherever LeBron goes.’ Like, it would take something real for the Lakers to want to trade him. Outside of Bronny, I would look at Dalton Knecht and Jaden Hardy as guys who are more likely to be moved just because of their contract situations. Jaden Hardy has a team option for 2027-28. Dalton Knecht has another also a team option for the following season.
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Dave McMenamin: The Lakers make the Deandre Ayton-Jaden Hardy trade with WAS official. Hardy will wear No. 7 for LAL.
Greg Finberg: FINAL | WAS 112, IND 105: Jaden Hardy: 13 PTS, Carlton Carrington: 13 PTS, Anthony Gill: 13 PTS. The Wizards win (lose) the first game of this tanking battle. Washington didn’t play Champagnie or Watkins and benched 3/5 starters for the final 17 minutes, but a late 14-0 run propelled them to a win.
