LOS ANGELES — The Lakers were down another big man for Friday night’s home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jaxson Hayes was ruled out for the playoff rematch against the Timberwolves because of left knee soreness, with Coach JJ Redick saying Hayes was being downgraded to unavailable after being downgraded to questionable Friday morning.
With Maxi Kleber sidelined for at least the next couple of weeks because of a strained oblique, Hayes was the primary backup big man behind starting center Deandre Ayton in Tuesday’s season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors, recording four points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.
The Lakers made two-way center Christian Koloko available against the Timberwolves in light of the hit to their big man depth.
Redick used the same starters Friday that he did on Tuesday: Ayton, Luka Doncic, Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
The Lakers leaned on small-ball lineups during the first half of Friday’s game in light of the absences of Hayes and Kleber, including closing out the first half with a lineup of Marcus Smart, Jarred Vanderbilt, Doncic, Reaves and Hachimura.
Second-year guard/forward Dalton Knecht was also in the first-half rotation after being a DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) on Tuesday.
SALE UPDATE
Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter was scheduled to present his bid to acquire a majority ownership stake in the Lakers to the NBA’s Advisory Finance Committee on Friday, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported ahead of the team’s game against the Timberwolves.
ESPN’s reporting added that Walter could be approved as the franchise’s new majority owner by the end of the month, lining up with the sale from the Buss Family to Walter being scheduled to close by the end of the year.
The sale of the Lakers from the Buss Family Trust to Walter came at a valuation of approximately $10 billion, making it the largest sale of a North American professional sports team ever.
The Buss Family will retain a minority ownership stake of more than 15%, allowing Jeanie Buss to remain the Lakers’ governor.
Walter and Buss were seen sitting next to each other during Tuesday’s season opener.
CUP COURT
The NBA unveiled the courts teams will use for their home games when hosting NBA Cup tournament games, which begin next Friday (Oct. 31).
The Lakers’ court, which they’ll debut when they host the Clippers on Nov. 25 in their first home tournament game, is bright yellow with a purple exterior, featuring their “LA” secondary logo at center court.
As the inaugural NBA Cup champions, 2023 will be engraved on the base of the trophy on the logo at center court of the Lakers’ court.
The Lakers will play their first of four Group Play games against the Memphis Grizzlies next Friday in Memphis.