Lakers Young Rotation Piece Earning Second Season With Team After Strong Year
The Los Angeles Lakers season has been a pendulum of ups and downs all year. At times, they have looked like one of the best teams in the NBA, but at others, they look like anyone could take them down.
It's hurt the team in the standings, but to their credit, they have played much better of late. The team has gotten relatively healthy seasons from stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but they have suffered injuries elsewhere along the roster.
One rotation piece who has been given more playing time lately has been center Jaxson Hayes. Hayes was brought in to give the team some depth at the center position this past summer, but nobody expected him to play heavy minutes. But injuries and inconsistent play from others have vaulted him into more of a rotational role.
Hayes has taken this in stride and has put on a nice performance over time. While his numbers don't jump off a page, he is a decent enough backup, who likely has earned another year on the team. Hayes has a player option that is worth $2.4 million and it will likely be picked up by the front office.
Through 67 games with the Lakers, Hayes has averaged 4.3 points and three rebounds per game. But when he has been given more playing time, he has shown his ability. For instance, when Davis was forced to leave the team's game on Sunday evening due to injury, Hayes stepped up and dropped 19 points to help keep the game competitive.
He isn't the perfect player and is likely better suited for a bench role, but Hayes has shown his worth. The big man out of the University of Texas has earned the trust of his teammates, which is more than enough to return to the Lakers next year.
