Jaden

Hardy

The Lakers will received Hardy and two future second-rounders in exchange for Deandre Ayton. The former second-round pick was sent to Washington as part of the Anthony Davis trade last season after spending the first few years of his career in Dallas. He can provide instant offense at times, but he likely won’t be a big part of the Lakers’ rotation next season.

The second-round picks are in 2031 and 2032. The Lakers recently acquired Walker Kessler to be the team’s starting center, and they’ll offload Ayton just a few days after he picked up his player option for next season. He’ll now likely be the backup center behind Alex Sarr, which eliminates most of the fantasy value that he had this past season. However, he should be one of the better backup bigs in the league and has streaming upside if the Wizards face an injury in the frontcourt to either Sarr or Anthony Davis.

Hardy did not play in Tuesday’s loss to the Bulls, which factored into Sharife Cooper playing 27 minutes off the bench. Cooper should take on a similar workload in Thursday’s rematch.

Even with Hardy unavailable for Tuesday’s loss to the Bulls, the Wizards had enough available players to roll out a nine-man rotation. If he can play in Thursday’s rematch, Hardy should get minutes off the bench, especially with Bilal Coulibaly listed as questionable.

Hardy was initially listed as questionable with back spasms, but has since been ruled out for Tuesday’s game against the Bulls. Leaky Black could be of added importance with Tre Johnson (foot) also sidelined.

Initially questionable, Johnson will not play on Sunday. The rookie’s absence opens up a spot in the starting lineup, and Jaden Hardy is a potential replacement. However, whether he starts or comes off the bench, Hardy is worth a look, especially in points leagues.

Coulibaly has been dealing with tendinitis in his left heel for a few games, most recently sitting out Monday’s loss to the Lakers. While he was available for Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers, the Wizards’ wing only played 19 minutes. Jaden Hardy and Justin Champagnie are two players whose minutes may increase if Coulibaly sits.

Johnson is available after three games on the sideline, while Coulibaly will play through a persistent heel issue. With both Johnson and Coulibaly available, Leaky Black and Jaden Hardy could see their roles reduced.

While availability has not been an issue for Coulibaly recently, Johnson has missed the last three games with a sprained right foot. If both are unable to play on Friday, Leaky Black and Jaden Hardy will have added importance within the Wizards’ rotation, with the former possibly moving into the starting lineup.

Hardy has reached double figures in each of his last five games, putting up 20 or more in the last two. While he doesn’t do enough in the other categories to be worth the risk in most category leagues, there could be some value gained in deep points leagues. However, Hardy is not a must-add player by any means since he is still coming off the bench.