The Utah Jazz signed Jaxson Hayes to a two-year $12 million deal, according to Tim MacMahon.
The second year is a team option, meaning Utah can release him after this upcoming season if they want.
The Hayes signing makes sense, as Utah now needs center depth after the Walker Kessler trade. Hayes played 66 games last season for the Lakers and started in 9 of them. He averaged
18 minutes per game while shooting 75% from the field, with 7.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks. As of now, Hayes likely becomes the backup center behind Jusuf Nurkic if the Jazz decide to start Nurkic. But Hayes feels like he’s more of a third center on a good team.
The off-court issues are the biggest concern with Hayes, who has had domestic violence allegations in the past. We haven’t heard from the Jazz front office about those issues, but the Lakers have discussed those issues before. You can read about that here.
We can only hope that those things are behind Hayes and that he has changed his life after some harrowing details of his past were revealed.
In terms of basketball alone, Utah now has a center who can fill the void left by Walker Kessler. Hayes gives the Jazz flexibility in potential future trades, especially with his team option on his second year, while also keeping the Jazz cap low as they prepare for a future contract for Keyone George.
This is also probably a reflection of the Ainge’s view of centers. They might not think putting money into the center position is worth it unless you have a franchise-caliber player. Utah obviously didn’t think Kessler was at that level and can now fill gaps with moves like this.
