After the Los Angeles Lakers traded Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in the deal that brought them Luka Doncic, Jaxson Hayes was forced to become their starting center. It was a role he’s ill-suited for, and he and the team got exposed in the first round of the NBA playoffs when they lost in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But now, Hayes is back to being a backup now that Deandre Ayton is a member of the squad. Still, he will be playing a key role, as the center position is still a very important one in the league, and he will be called on to play a meaningful number of minutes.
He said at media day on Monday that he gained 20 pounds this summer under the guidance of L.A.’s strength coach, his chef and his nutritionist.
One knock on Hayes is that at seven feet and 220 pounds, which was his listed weight as of last season, he lacked the strength and mass to effectively box out for rebounds or play effective positional defense in the paint. That additional weight that he says he picked up will only help in, especially in those two areas.
This will be Hayes’ third season with Los Angeles. He averaged 5.4 points on 72.1% field-goal shooting, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 15.6 minutes a game over the last two seasons with the team.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Jaxson Hayes says he gained weight this summer
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
