The Los Angeles Lakers have definitively upgraded at the center position this summer by signing Deandre Ayton, a 27-year-old seven-footer who has career averages of 16.4 points on 59% field-goal shooting and 10.5 rebounds a game. His defense and overall focus and effort have been a question mark throughout his seven-year NBA career, but he showed promise a few years ago with the Phoenix Suns when they were contenders, and he’s now back in a winning situation.
The Lakers’ backup center situation, however, isn’t ideal. They have Jaxson Hayes as their second-stringer at the 5, and while he isn’t exactly a terrible player, he is extremely limited offensively. Plenty of Lakers fans want the team to acquire a better option than Hayes, and they ideally want someone who can stretch the floor by hitting 3-pointers.
Hayes has never exactly been a 3-point threat, but per Aron Cohen of Lakers All Day Every Day, the center has been working on rectifying that. Cohen posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) of Hayes nailing trey after trey in the gym.
“He told me to expect more shooting from him this season,” Cohen wrote.
It’s a stretch to expect Hayes to start consistently knocking down shots from downtown this season, especially when he has averaged just 0.3 3-point attempts in 16.4 minutes a game for his career. But if he hits one every now and then, it would be a step in the right direction for him and his team.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Jaxson Hayes is apparently working on a new phase of his game
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
