The Los Angeles Lakers have not been as active to start the NBA free agency period as any of their fans would have expected, or wanted, for that matter.
After losing Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets on a long-term deal, Rob Pelinka has been bargain shopping more than big game hunting thus far. What that ultimately means for the roster the Purple and Gold roll out for the 2025-26 season is anyone's guess.
What we do know, however, is that Pelinka's patience is likely providing Lakers supporters with plenty of anxiety as they wait for the next domino to fall.
Former Lakers F Nigel Hayes-Davis Joins Suns After 7 Seasons Away from the NBA
Seeing former players sign on with division rivals isn't going to help that anxiety one bit, but that is the situation Los Angeles fans find themselves in after the Phoenix Suns went out and added one of the top players in Europe this past year.
Fenerbahce's Nigel Hayes-Davis – the 2025 Euroleague champion and finals MVP as well as Turkish Cup champion and MVP – has agreed to a fully guaranteed one-year contract with the Phoenix Suns, sources tell ESPN. The two-time Euroleague first-teamer returns to the States and NBA. pic.twitter.com/4f75izENgM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025
Hayes-Davis was a star during his college years with the Wisconsin Badgers, but he ultimately went undrafted after exhausting his NCAA eligibility. Without a franchise bringing him in via the draft, Hayes-Davis was forced to find his path to the league. That led to three brief stints with the Lakers, Toronto Raptors, and Sacramento Kings before heading overseas in 2019.
While going to Europe can signal the end of a player's NBA dreams, Hayes-Davis used the opportunity to improve his game across the board and become a force to be reckoned with. Being named MVP of the EuroLeague Finals, as well as the Turkish Cup, isn't something that happens. You have to put in the necessary work to earn those accolades, and Hayes-Davis did just that, paving the way for his return to the NBA.
With Kevin Durant being shipped out of town in Phoenix, Hayes-Davis should have an opportunity to break into the Suns' rotation right away and prove to the rest of the NBA that he belongs on the game's biggest stage. Lakers fans just have to hope that those performances will come against the other 28 teams in the league and not Los Angeles.