The Los Angeles Lakers had a short stint in the 2025 NBA playoffs after being eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. One of the players who didn’t get enough exposure in the postseason for the Lakers was Jaxson Hayes. While the big man served as the team’s starting center, he only stayed for a while and averaged 7.5 minutes through four games.
In Game 5, head coach JJ Redick made a crucial decision to bench the 7-foot center to try out a small-ball approach. However, that backfired after three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert had a dominant performance to lead the Wolves to the Western Conference semifinals. The Frenchman had 27 points, 24 rebounds and two blocks.
Even though Redick opted to play Dorian Finney-Smith over Hayes, the starting center had no issues with the final decision. He told the media that he respected his head coach and what he envisioned for Game 5. Unfortunately for L.A., it didn’t help them extend the series and force a Game 6.
“I mean, they told me. They were up straight with me in just saying to stay ready and they were gonna try some other things out. That was the coach’s decision, so I respect that always,” Hayes said.
Redick wanted to have more spacing offensively, which is why he chose DFS over the big man. However, his absence took a hit on the Lakers’ defensive approach, and the Wolves exploited that through Gobert.
In the four games he played, Hayes averaged 1.8 points and two rebounds. The big man became the team’s official starting center after they traded away Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic. During the short time he was the starter, he averaged 8.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and a block.
The Los Angeles Lakers are linked to two centers heading into the offseason
The problem of the Los Angeles Lakers is the lack of size. Even before they traded Davis away, the All-Star big man aired his concerns about wanting the front office to trade for another frontcourt player.
Heading into the offseason, there have been two starting centers from the Eastern Conference linked to them. According to Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report, the Lakers have been linked to Jakob Poeltl of the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets’ Nic Claxton.
“One of the less heralded names that the Lakers should go after, Jakob Poeltl possesses a unique set of skills that could dramatically improve L.A. without costing it a ton of contracts and/or assets,” Bailey wrote about the Raptors center.
“That version of Claxton is just waiting to be reintroduced to the league, and Luka (and LeBron and Reaves) are exactly the kind of playmakers who can do that,” he added about Claxton.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
