The last time the Los Angeles Lakers brought home the championship, they did so by often employing two-big lineups with either Javale McGee or Dwight Howard alongside Anthony Davis. And recently, there have been a couple of teams who are also leaning into more size, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Having lineup versatility is crucial in the NBA and while the Lakers have a couple of more than capable bigs in Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes, most would assume the duo wouldn’t be able to play together if the Lakers needed to match size with certain teams.
But Hayes doesn’t believe that to be the case and pointed back to some previous experiences as to why he believes he and Ayton could pair together just fine on the court.
“For sure,” Hayes responded when asked if he and Ayton could play together. “I did a little bit with AD. My third year in the league I started at the 4 for the Pelicans and we made the playoffs that year with Jonas [Valanciunas]. So I think it’s definitely something I can do, and I’ve been working on my shot this offseason. So, yeah.”
Hayes did average 11.6 points and 6.0 rebounds in 28 games as a starter on the New Orleans Pelicans next to Valanciunas back in 2022 and there were absolutely some times over the past two seasons where he and Davis shared the court together and it worked just fine.
Some of that is due to Davis’ skillset as he is a much better facilitator than most bigs and can operate from the midrange area, but Ayton does share some of those skills as well. In particular, his shooting ability from the midrange makes him a threat there, and he has shown the ability to be a solid passer from the elbow as well.
An Ayton-Hayes frontcourt likely isn’t something that head coach JJ Redick would turn to regularly, but in certain situations it is good to at least have the option to do so. And Hayes certainly believes it is possible for him and Ayton to thrive on the court together.
Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes working on getting Slovenian passport to play with Luka Doncic
Many assumed Jaxson Hayes was joking when he mentioned that he was working towards getting a Slovenian passport in order to be able to play for the Slovenian National Team alongside his Lakers teammate Luka Doncic, but it seems as if this is something that is really in the plans.
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