The Los Angeles Lakers have one final roster decision to make, and for the past few months, it’s come down to Jaden Hardy and Dalton Knecht for who won’t be on the team for the 2026-27 NBA season.
While the Lakers have yet to make a final decision, Hardy, who was acquired over the summer in the Deandre Ayton trade, may have saved his job with his performance in the team’s latest preseason game against the Golden State Warriors.
Despite coming off the bench and playing just 15 minutes, Hardy was the third-highest scorer for Los Angeles in the loss, drastically outperforming Knecht, who failed to score in his six minutes on the court.
Jaden Hardy Beating Out Dalton Knecht For Lakers Final Roster Spot
Though Knecht was and is still expected to be leading the race as the Lakers’ final roster cut before the season, there was always the thought that he was battling with both Hardy and Bronny James to save his spot on the team.
However, with what Hardy showed on Tuesday night against Golden State, he may have shown enough to convince JJ Redick he should stick around.
The fifth-year guard only shot 3/9 from the field and 1/6 from deep, but along with his 10 points, he recorded two rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. Though still just preseason, he showed flashes of being the Lakers’ reserve ball handler and point guard.
Even if he does stay on the team, he likely won’t be playing a lot. However, after coming off the best season of his career, Hardy reminded head coach Redick that he has the potential to be a winning player, or at least one Los Angeles could use at times during the regular season when they presumably are dealing with injuries across the roster.
Hardy still has a very uncertain future, and that will remain the case until October 19, when the Lakers must finalize the 15-man roster for the upcoming season. However, Knecht hasn’t shown a ton of promise through the preseason so far, and Los Angeles could use another playmaker who has previous experience playing with Luka Doncic, so for the time being, it’s safe to say he’s winning the race over Knecht to stay on the team.
Los Angeles Could Still Trade The Young Guard
Even if Hardy is beating out Knecht to save himself from being the Lakers’ final roster cut ahead of the new season, that’s no guarantee he’s on the roster by the end of the year.
According to a recent report from NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Lakers are actively looking to make a trade before the season begins, likely for a new starting power forward or backup center.
Hardy, Knecht, and Jarred Vanderbilt have all been Los Angeles’ top trade candidates for the entire summer, and if an enticing offer comes around, it’s hard to see the front office not moving him for a roster upgrade.
Additionally, as team insider Jovan Buha recently revealed, the Lakers could be looking to trade Hardy in particular, potentially back to the team that moved him earlier in the offseason.
As Buha said, if the franchise is in the market for Bilal Coulibaly or Justin Champagnie of the Washington Wizards, Hardy could very well be the player Los Angeles moves for one of them.
“Now the funny thing is the Lakers are going to be trying to trade Jaden Hardy,” he recently said on his show, Buha’s Block. “I think a couple like Champagnie and Coulibaly could be gettable during the season. I would say those are a couple of names, lower-level names. I think more bench-level guys, but [they] could improve the roster.”
“I don’t know if Washington wants to take him [Hardy] back and what that price would be,” Buha continued. “Are the Lakers just going to end up sending back the Wizards picks and get Coulibaly or Champagnie instead of Hardy? That would kind of be funny, but I think those are a couple of names that could make some sense.”
Though still just trade rumors rather than actual intel, even if Hardy beats out Knecht, there’s no guarantee the Lakers keep him around.
But for now, after his preseason showing against Golden State, the young guard should feel safe that he has a stronger chance of staying on the roster, even though he’ll still likely be at the bottom of the depth chart during the 2026-27 season in L.A.
Lakers $6M Guard Outplays Dalton Knecht But Remains Top Trade Target