The Los Angeles Lakers have backed themselves into a corner that won't be easy to escape. The Mark Williams trade has officially fallen through and Los Angeles is now faced with the harsh reality of how its months, if not years of indecision have potentially cost it LeBron James' age-40 season.
If the Lakers are going to overcome that disappointing possibility, they'll need Jaxson Hayes to live up to his potential—or at least become a starting-caliber option.
Hayes is in the final season of his current contract, which is reason enough for him to make a statement during the second half of the campaign. The pressure is now on, however, for the 24-year-old to prove that the Lakers aren't going to lose every matchup at the 5-spot that they face.
There will certainly be encounters that Los Angeles must begrudingly accept as uphill battles, including clashes with Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic, but not all outings need to be one-sided.
Hayes stepping up and providing somewhere in the ballpark of 25 quality minutes per game would be a massive boost to the Lakers' aspirations. Ideally, he can thrive as a rim-runner and rebounder who can at least provide value in those two areas of the game.
Thankfully, there's reason to believe that faith in Hayes isn't quite the blind optimism that it may seem to be entering the All-Star break.
Jaxson Hayes must step up for Lakers to supplement Luka Doncic
Injuries and bouts with inconsistency have, unfortunately, come to define Hayes' Lakers tenure. It's an unavoidable truth that doesn't quite lend itself to the belief that he can become a starting-caliber player capable of providing situational value.
That includes a recent stretch of play during which Hayes has turned in some of his best performances of the 2024-25 season.
It's an admittedly small sample size, but Hayes has posted averages of 8.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 offensive boards, 2.0 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.1 steals over the past seven games. Considering he's done so in just 22.5 minutes per contest, it's hard not to be at least somewhat intrigued.
During that time, Hayes has either posted or matched his season-highs in points, rebounds, and steals in a single game. He's also recorded his second-most blocks in an outing.
It's also worth noting that Hayes has provided a positive impact throughout the 2024-25 regular season, albeit in limited minutes. Los Angeles is outscoring opponents by 3.0 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor, with the biggest difference being on defense.
Los Angeles is allowing 4.2 fewer points per 100 possessions when Hayes is on the court than when he isn't—an ideally sustainable fact.
The context is crucial, as Hayes has been primarily matched up against backup centers or flanked by Davis. He's a rim-runner who can make plays on defense, however, which makes him an ideal fit alongside top-tier playmaker Luka Doncic.
If Hayes is able to live up to his potential as a player with two-way value, then the Lakers could go further than anticipated despite their perceived interior woes.
