Lakers to sign intriguing big man to two-year deal

It seems likely that Hayes will be receiving the veteran’s minimum, barring a sign-and-trade with New Orleans.

Hayes, 23, was the eighth overall pick of the 2019 draft after one college season at Texas. He spent his first four NBA seasons with the Pelicans, who chose not to give him a qualifying offer in order to make him a restricted free agent.

A 6-foot-11 big man who has played both forward and center but is primarily viewed as a five, Hayes has yet to live up to his draft status, averaging 7.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 241 regular season games with the Pelicans over the past four years (16.8 minutes). In 610 total minutes in 2022-23, he had the worst on/off differential on the team, per NBA.com.

Still, while Hayes doesn’t have a great basketball IQ, he’s young and is a strong run-and-jump athlete. Considering he’s probably getting a minimum-salary deal, he was worth a flier as a potential buy-low candidate given the dearth of available big men on the market.