After three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, Jaxson Hayes left this summer and joined the Utah Jazz.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon was the first to report Hayes’ decision to sign a two-year contract with the Jazz.
“Source: The Jazz are signing former Lakers center Jaxson Hayes to a two-year, $12 million deal. The second season is a team option,” MacMahon tweeted.
In 192 games with the Lakers, Hayes averaged 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 73.5 percent shooting.
Hayes Could Have Big Role Early This Season
The Utah Jazz signed Jaxson Hayes to be the team’s backup center behind Jusuf Nurkic.
However, Nurkic suffered an injury in the Jazz’s first preseason game against the Denver Nuggets last week. He was ruled out for at least four weeks, which meant he could miss around eight games to start the season.
According to Shreyas Laddha of the Salt Lake City Tribune, Hayes could provide a pivotal role for the Jazz as a starting center.
“Hayes’ value on offense mostly comes as a lob threat, and he showed good chemistry with the Jazz guards in the preseason pick-and-roll,” Laddha wrote. “Expect to see plenty of that in the coming weeks. Hayes ranked in the 98th percentile in two-point percentage last year.”
Hayes played well alongside Luka Doncic during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers as a lob threat. He would now be working with Keyonte George in the starting lineup and Isaiah Collier off the bench.
Laddha added that once Nurkic returns from injury, Hayes has already developed chemistry with Collier during training camp. Collier and Hayes could be one of the most lethal pick-and-roll duos off the bench in the NBA.
It’s worth pointing out that Kyle Filipowski underwent back surgery this past offseason. He was cleared for training camp, but he will likely be limited as a way to ease him back into full-contact basketball.
Hayes on Stepping Up Amid Nurkic’s Absence
Speaking to The Salt Lake City Tribune, Hayes addressed his new role in the absence of Nurkic for the next month or so. He used his experience with the Los Angeles Lakers to explain his mentality heading into his first season in Utah.
“It’s the next-man-up mentality,” Hayes said. “I dealt with some of these issues in LA, so just staying prepared and being a professional. Everybody has got to be ready, so just going to come do my job.”
The Jazz have two more preseason games remaining against the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns. They open the regular season on October 21 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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