The Los Angeles Lakers have secured the No. 3 overall seed in the Western Conference ahead of the postseason tipping off next weekend as the Purple and Gold look to bring an 18th Larry O'Brien Trophy to the franchise.
While there are certainly some players who are absolutely untouchable on the Lakers roster regardless of how this upcoming postseason run turns out, we're looking at you LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves, some players will need to put together impressive performances when the stakes are their highest in order to convince GM Rob Pelinka that they are an important piece of the puzzle moving forward.
Jaxson Hayes Entering His Last Playoff Run in Los Angeles
One of those players who could ultimately see his time in Los Angeles come to an end without a standout postseason performance is veteran center Jaxson Hayes. The fact of the matter is the Lakers completed a trade at the deadline that would have made Mark Williams their new starting center for the stretch run before the deal was ultimately rescinded due to concerns over Williams' health. If that wasn't enough writing on the wall to make Hayes and every other follower of the Purple and Gold know that they would like to upgrade at center, then I don't know what is.
The 24-year-old former Texas Longhorns standout is set to enter unrestricted free agency this summer and could very well find himself searching for a new home in the NBA if his play during the postseason isn't up to par. After stepping into a larger role following the trade deadline, Hayes has shown flashes of the talent that made him the No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft but consistency has been an issue and the Lakers are simply not the type of franchise that will reward inconsistent play with a long-term contract.
After averaging 9.8 points and 5.9 rebounds on 79.7% shooting during the month of March, Hayes has seen his production go down across the board as well, albeit coming from a smaller sample size, April has not been kind to the big man as his averages have dropped to 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 63.6% from the field.
Given the Lakers only own one selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, the No. 55 overall pick, at the time of this writing, it seems like any replacement for Hayes will be found on the free agent market. With LeBron and Luka taking up roughly 2/3 of their total salary cap space, Pelinka will have to scour the market to find the best bang for his buck if the Lakers have any plans to bring in a different player to anchor the middle on both ends of the floor.
We'll find out soon enough whether Hayes can turn in the type of postseason performances that leads to Pelinka having a greater belief in his ability to get the job done for this team moving forward. If Hayes fails to do that, he will more than likely be moving on from Hollywood to another franchise within the league.