Jaxson Hayes agrees to one-year deal to return to Lakers

The Lakers will reportedly bring back center Jaxson Hayes on a one-year deal next season.

It turns out that bridges may not have been burned at the end of last season.

Jaxson Hayes will be returning to the Lakers on a one-year deal, as first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. Hayes will serve as the backup to the newly-acquired Deandre Ayton.

Hayes re-signing with the Lakers on a one-year deal means he has an implicit no-trade clause. Effectively, he has to give the all clear on any trade involving him.

With Hayes now back, the Lakers’ roster is set at 15 players, the maximum a team can have. Shake Milton is the only other contract situation still up in the air. He has a non-guaranteed deal and the deadline for that option is July 20.

Hayes had one of the best regular seasons of his career, averaging 6.8 points, shooting 72% from the field and starting in 35 games for the Lakers last year.

However, he struggled in the postseason, causing head coach JJ Redick to bench him for Game 4 and not play him at all for Game 5 against the Wolves.

Despite the sour end to the year, Hayes showed that he can be an explosive offensive player and played well alongside Luka Dončić. Post-Luka trade, Hayes’ production jumped up to 8.1 points per game and he had a plus-minus of +78, fifth-highest plus-minus on the Lakers.

Recently, he stated on social media that he was open to coming back to play for the Lakers, foreshadowing Thursday’s news.

This time around, Hayes will be slotted into a more appropriate role for his ability as a backup big man. The Lakers will be aiming to accentuate his positive attributes and minimize his negative ones and, most importantly, won’t have to rely solely on him this season.

Now that Hayes is back and Ayton is starting, it’s unlikely that other big options will be pursued. Recently, the Lakers have been rumored to be in trade talks for players such as Nick Richards, Yves Missi and Robert Williams III.

There were also reports stating that the Lakers were a “serious consideration” for Al Horford. While free agency always has surprises, it’s most likely that the frontcourt depth chart in L.A. will have Ayton at one and Hayes at two when the season begins, especially considering they also still have Trey Jemison III on a two-way deal.

Hayes signing will also bring the Lakers right up to the first apron, which is a hard cap for them this season after using the mid-level exception.

As things stand, the Lakers can not use their bi-annual exception as it will take them above the first apron. However, there is an easy solution for this as they can waive Shake Milton’s non-guaranteed deal to clear enough space to do so.

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