What a difference a year can make.
When the Los Angeles Lakers went bargain-bin shopping during the 2023 NBA offseason, fans were intrigued by the seemingly low-risk, high-reward fliers taken on Cam Reddish and Christian Wood. The former still had a pinch of pedigree from being the No. 10 pick of the 2019 draft, while the latter had posted some of the loudest numbers seen from a journeyman.
While Jaxson Hayes was the No. 8 pick in that same 2019 talent grab, he didn’t quite have the name recognition of Reddish and Wood. Hayes had never been a starter or a double-digit scorer or someone who really moved the stat sheet in any discernible direction.
With one Hollywood season in the books for all three, though, it’s now Hayes being held in the highest regard. Should L.A. need to make a cost-cutting move, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported Wood and Reddish “would be the two most likely guys to be salary dumped.” Further highlighting the pecking order, Buha added the Lakers “would prioritize keeping Hayes in comparison with [Wood] and Reddish.”
Before digging into why this is a smart decision, let’s get one caveat out of the way: None of this might matter.
While the free-agent pool isn’t completely dried up, you don’t need polarized lenses to see the bottom. Maybe someone like Gary Trent Jr., Tyus Jones or Spencer Dinwiddie captures the front office’s attention, but it’s possible the Purple and Gold don’t deem anyone worthy of making a financial sacrifice to sign. It’s also possible the Lakers couldn’t trade their way into enough room to add one of the top players left on the market.
The other side of that coin, of course, is that the organization identifies a target who shares mutual interest, necessitating the very type of salary dump being discussed. And if that does happen, then the Lakers should do what they can to keep Hayes out of such an exchange.
The bouncy big man may have taken the longest of the three to secure his rotation spot, but there’s a reason his role expanded as the campaign progressed. His low-maintenance, high-energy, athletic-as-heck game is an easy fit alongside gravitational forces like LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Hayes fits the classic rim-runner mold. He lives around the restricted area at both ends, crushing lobs on one side and protecting the basket on the other.
He has occasionally dabbled in long-distance shooting, but the Lakers were smart for taking that off his plate. By restricting his diet to almost entirely point-blank opportunities, he rewarded them with a career-high 72 percent conversion rate.
L.A. can work with that.
This offense should grow more perimeter-oriented under new coach JJ Redick, which should keep the runway clear for Hayes. And considering he’s a 7-footer with legitimate hops (34.5″ max vertical at the 2019 combine), his aerial antics would shine with more room to operate.
That skill set is a cleaner fit with James and Davis than Wood and Reddish possess.
Wood can be more methodical with the basketball, and the more time he’s handling it, the less it’s in the hands of the team’s best players. Reddish would be a fit if he ever became the three-and-D swingman people have long projected him to become, but his 32.4 career three-point percentage says that transformation just isn’t happening.
Hayes’ skill tree might have the fewest branches of the three, but that’s fine when what he brings helps this team. And since he only turned 24 in May, there might be time for some new branches to sprout just yet.
