Aloha,
While I thought Jaxson was a good signing for the minimum, I think it will be a process. I can’t see him stepping into the starting line up. Especially when you have Rui who is so much better . I can see them experimenting with AD but I would be surprised if he started any time soon. Any here is excerpts from a bleacher report article that outlines my own concerns.
What should Lakers fans expect to see from Jaxson Hayes? What are his strengths and weaknesses at this stage of his career?
Kosel: Jaxson Hayes’ tenure was a mixed bag throughout his four years in New Orleans. His length and athleticism are first-class, as evidenced by a mountain of highlight dunks, defensive plays and soaring rebounds. His fundamentals, understanding of the game and motor though — while all improved since his rookie season — still lack that desired consistency.
This largely encapsulates why on more than one occasion he would enter the rotation, make a major splash that drew vast praise, but then find himself back on the bench just weeks later.
His best position ultimately proved to be at the 4, as his lack of knowledge and sometimes willingness to check all the boxes of responsibilities at the 5 made it difficult to rely on him as a defensive anchor. His failure to pose as a legitimate shooting threat from the perimeter often compromised the spacing on the floor though. His decision-making was also prone to wild oscillations. He would show the ability to make the correct secondary read with the dribble or pass, and then on the very next possession, produce the poorest of turnovers.
Until he makes a greater commitment to the game by spending hours in the gym — he never nailed down at least one go-to post move during his time in New Orleans — and in the video room to learn opponent tendencies, strategies and the like, he’ll remain a tantalizing but unreliable contributor. So it’s best to keep expectations low. Enjoy the incredible finishes in transition and on rolls to the rim. Hope that Darvin Ham and LeBron James can unlock something more. But realize that he’s not likely to ever approach a high ceiling because that passion for basketball seems to be missing.
Interesting approach for the Lakers this 23-24 season. Lots of Hall of Famers to be going all over the place, just not LA. On paper, the Suns, Warriors and Denver are waaay better than us, but Health will rule all.
I don’t agree DJ. While Denver swept us, every game came down the wire and we lost 3 by 6 points or less. They took a big step backwards when they lost Bruce brown and didn’t add anyone that replaces him. And I’m not afraid of the Warriors. It will be interesting to see how they use CP3. I can’t see them playing Steph and him together much. They would get crushed on defense. And they didn’t do much to address their lack of size. We have a big advantage there. The Suns have a lot of firepower but defense will be an issue like last year and the rest of their team is minimum contract guys. Now I’m not saying we will win a ring but we will be a tough out and if a couple of our young guys take another step forward, we could be dangerous. We have a real chance at being a top 3 defense this year and defense wins championships, so you never know.
I just see that we rolled out ol and rolled in the same. I hope we get a big surprise with a couple new editions, but as said, HEALTH will be everything for all the top teams.
You nailed it, DJ!
I don’t think he did Buba. We have enough offense and we could be one of if not the best defenses in the league. Defense wins in the playoffs. We were the best defense in the playoffs and we improved on that end.
Michael, this is what I was referring to from DJ:
“On paper, the Suns, Warriors and Denver are waaay better than us, but Health will rule all.”
Yep BB!
Low risk move by the Lakers however it works out. Start him and give AD a slight break against starting centers, essentially until the 2nd half. Come off the bench and he’s no worse than Wenyan whose heart and hustle is unquestioned but his talent ceiling has been hit.
His role in NOLA seemed to be in a constant state of flux, based on axion’s injury du jour. Here he’ll have a pretty specific role. That might be enough and on D he can let AD control the paint and be the elite defender, he just needs to handle box out duty.
On paper, 7th and 8th seeds don’t make the final four. As HOFers go, we traded one and turned the season around. Then Rob improved the roster and kept the young guys. Thumbs up.