The Los Angeles Lakers finally dealt with trouble at center position.
Even if they signed a two-year deal with Deandre Ayton, the Los Angeles Lakers needed a backup center to ensure that the overall picks of the previous No. 1 didn’t feel overloaded.
President Rob Perinka did so by signing a one-year contract with Jackson Hayes. Hayes is unhappy with his postseason role, but the 25-year-old has returned to the team.
This is the third straight season when Hayes signed a one-year deal with Purple and Gold. Interestingly, this time the Veteran Center has a non-trade clause in its one-year contract.
Hayes may surprise fans considering that only LeBron James and Bradley Beale have no trade clauses in the contract.
After all, the NTC is usually reserved for the league’s biggest names. Hayes has no attacks, but he’s not close to that level. So why does Hayes have non-trade clauses in his trade?
“Players who have been earning players for three or more consecutive years with their teams in a row to win birds at that point will occur on a yearly contract and they will be lost in the trade,” Lakers reporter Trevor Lane explained in X.
He added:
As Lane said, this was part of the NBA’s new CBA contract with the NBPA. Either way, this means that at least in the 2025-26 NBA season, Hayes cannot be exchanged unless the Lakers agree to it.
Hayes averaged 6.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game for the Lakers last season. These are not astronomical numbers, but they are not terrible.
Nevertheless, when reports surfaced about head coach JJ Redick, who lost Hayes’ trust, the Lakernation quickly threw him under the bus.
It was when Hayes’ teammate Austin stood up for his defense as he leased, saying, “The first month Luka got there, Jackson was one of our most important players. He was playing at such a high level.”
Well, a few weeks after the Raves’ solid defense of Hayes, the Lakers decided to bring him back another year.