Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick announced that center Jaxson Hayes (left knee soreness) has been ruled out of Friday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hayes originally was not on the Lakers’ injury report before being downgraded to questionable on Friday morning and now ruled out.
This injury certainly isn’t ideal as the Lakers get ready to play one of the bigger teams in the league in the Timberwolves. L.A. is already without superstar LeBron James and Maxi Kleber would be their next best backup center option after Hayes, but he is also out due to an abdominal injury.
Without Hayes in the lineup, starting center Deandre Ayton will likely play heavy minutes against the Timberwolves while two-way center Christian Koloko should get the backup minutes.
With Hayes out it also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lakers go small at times, although that will be tough to do against the Timberwolves frontline that includes Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels.
The hope is that this knee injury won’t keep Hayes out of the lineup for too long, but his status will be worth monitoring leading up to Sunday night’s matchup with the Sacramento Kings.
Jaxson Hayes explains decision to return to Lakers in free agency
Jaxson Hayes finished last season as the Lakers’ starting center, but he was notably benched in Game 5 of the first round series against the Timberwolves despite the team having no other big men.
Many assumed Hayes wouldn’t want to return to the Lakers in free agency after that, but he recently explained why it was a priority for him.
“People still forget about what all lead up to before the playoffs, we had a great run before that,” Hayes said during Lakers Media Day. “I had a good meeting with JJ and Rob after the season, right after Game 5 and they just told me they wanted me back. We talked about some things and I’m just excited to be back and get to work.”
The opportunity to continue playing with Luka Doncic was also something Hayes said he couldn’t pass up after testing free agency.
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