After an up-and-down season with the Lakers, Jaxson Hayes will reportedly pick up his player option for the 2024-25 season.
In an unsurprising and expected move, Jaxson Hayes will reportedly pick up his player option for the 2024-25 season to remain with the Lakers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Hayes’ contract will be for just $2.4 million next season.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes is exercising his $2.4 million player option to return for the 2024-25 season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Hayes reunites with new coach JJ Redick. pic.twitter.com/FCmbZAWwoK
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2024
It was an up-and-down season for Hayes, who fell out of the rotation early in the year. However, he worked his way back into the rotation and was a key piece of the team’s second-half push to get into the play-in spots and, eventually, into the playoffs.
However, in the postseason, Hayes was a virtual non-factor, playing just 24 total minutes in the five games against the Nuggets. Hayes finished the year averaging 4.3 points and 12.5 minutes per game, both the lowest marks of his career.
While D’Angelo Russell might have thought he earned himself a big payday this offseason, no team was going to line up to pay him more than the veteran’s minimum, making his return to the Lakers inevitable.
There are reasons to believe Hayes could have a strong second season in Los Angeles. He was featured very infrequently alongside Anthony Davis in multiple big lineups. He also showed big improvements later in the season after struggling initially.
However, the Lakers will have a big roster crunch this offseason and veteran’s minimum contracts like Hayes, Christian Wood or Cam Reddish, should he opt in, would be the easiest to dump. Hayes has the distinction of being the only true center of that group and the only one on the roster outside of AD, which might lead to him staying around.
Hayes could also excel in a new system under Redick. Ironically, Hayes played with JJ Redick in New Orleans at the beginning of his career. That relationship could have influenced his return to Los Angeles as well.
This was not an unexpected move from Hayes, who could still produce for the Lakers next season. However, it’s also not a given that he is on the roster at the end of free agency.
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