Season Review: Jaxson Hayes

Jaxson Hayes had his ups and downs in his first season in Los Angeles but eventually showed enough promise to earn a rotation spot and have real options this offseason.

Welcome to our Lakers Season Review Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday, breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player on the Lakers roster. Today, we take a look at Jaxson Hayes.

After spending the first four seasons of his career in New Orleans, Jaxson Hayes became the latest in a line of former first round picks the Lakers signed in free agency to a below market contract in the hopes of having him outperform those dollars and play closer to the talent level that earned him his high draft status in the first place.

This “second draft” strategy that the Lakers have employed has led to mixed results over the years but did produce some high-water moments in the form of guards Malik Monk and Lonnie Walker IV, giving the team hope they could strike gold again with Hayes. And just as the front office was hoping to tap into Hayes’ lottery pedigree, Hayes was looking to accomplish what Monk ultimately did: turn a productive season in Los Angeles into a ten-figure payday the following summer in free agency.

Though this past season for the Lakers is not likely to serve as that sort of runway for Hayes’ next contract, there were enough intriguing moments to want to see more of him while also a better understanding of why any expectations that he would somehow transform into a different player he showed in his first four seasons were not realistic.

How was their season?

While Hayes appeared in 70 games and averaged 12.5 minutes per night, those numbers do not quite tell the story a campaign that saw him entangled in a backup big-man platoon with Christian Wood, while also playing for a head coach whose instincts leaned more toward Wood’s shooting.

In fact, the backup center spot did not tilt Hayes’ way until February and was not permanently his definitively until a knee injury sidelined Wood for the rest of the season coming out of the All-Star break.

Of course, Hayes did not do himself many favors to begin the season, proving a bit too foul-prone as both a rim protector defensively and as a screen setter offensively. These sorts of mistakes seemingly left him with a lack of trust from a coaching staff already inclined to play Wood over him while also shying away from using Hayes in two-big lineups with Davis.

That said, as the season wore on, Hayes’ proclivity to commit fouls decreased and Woods’ own utility as a floor spacer diminished to the point that Hayes got another chance. And when it came, his general motor as a defender, rebounder, and in transition combined with his athleticism as a finisher and paint threat both in the halfcourt and on fastbreaks allowed him to solidify his spot as Anthony Davis’ primary backup.

When the team got to the playoffs, however, Hayes again found himself a victim of both his coach’s penchant to play smaller and the natural uptick in minutes for LeBron James, AD, and Rui Hachimura. Hayes never really got a chance to be the second big on the floor next to LeBron and AD, nor did he get many minutes next to both LeBron and Rui in frontcourt groupings that could better matchup with Denver’s size and athleticism.

So, ultimately, I’d give Hayes’ season somewhat of an incomplete. His enthusiasm when running the floor and general ability to impact the game athletically really helped a Lakers team whose natural disposition could too often tilt towards playing slower and without a lot of pop. That said, his penchant for playing too loose and needing a lot of guidance and direction while on the court could limit the types of groups he could really thrive in.

Should the Lakers Bring Him Back?

Hayes has a player option for next season, so, in many ways, this is not for the Lakers to decide—at least initially. If Hayes does opt-in, however, he immediately becomes tradable. For a Lakers team looking to make upgrades across their roster and potentially needing a bit of extra salary ballast, they could ultimately turn to Hayes as another contract to throw into a deal to make the money work.

I would argue, however, that if things went in that direction, it would be a mistake. Hayes is by no means a perfect player, but he’s just 24 years old and is the type of athlete who, in the right role and when playing with the right surrounding pieces, can be a good backup big who has some intriguing skills on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, he changes ends well and is an excellent rim runner, is a wonderful lob threat as a vertical spacer, understands his passing reads in the short roll and has fairly good feel for the screen and dribble handoff game in a five-out offense.

Defensively he’s not as good in drop coverage, but he’s shown a decent ability to play at the level of the screen when defending the pick-and-roll and has good enough feet to offer some switch-ability against guards and wings on the perimeter.

Ultimately, then, I’d welcome his return and would hope that whoever the Lakers next head coach is would find more opportunities to play him in bigger lineups where his athleticism could support LeBron and/or AD in all the ways that not only take some of the little things off their plates, but give them a partner who can put other teams into situations where they simply do not have enough athletes on the court to contend with what the Lakers can bring in the front court.

Will he return?

If ranking who I thought would be most likely to opt-in to the second season of their minimum contracts signed with the Lakers last summer, I would have Hayes as the least likely to do so.

First, of the trio between him, Wood, and Cam Reddish, Hayes was the only player to finish the season healthy. Second, he was the only one to also finish the season with a real role in the rotation. And, lastly, he objectively had the best year of any of them and, at his age, he could seemingly try to parlay that success into an opportunity with another team where he might get even more an opportunity to play.

And when you consider Wood has already reportedly opted into the second season of his contract and the fact that there will be another head coach here next season, there are already potential roadblocks to Hayes earning that backup role he closed the season with.

On the flip side, the market for backup bigs is not very strong and while Hayes did have a good season, was it good enough to convince a team to give him more than the minimum he’d be making with the Lakers next season? And, further, would it be with the sort of chance to play with an organization like the Lakers and all the benefits that come with that?

All things considered, then, I think there’s a good chance that Hayes opts in and takes his chances at being able to earn the backup big role outright and then use the upcoming season as a springboard into the type of opportunity and contract that can lead him into his prime years as a productive rotation player.

You can follow Darius on Twitter at @forumbluegold.