The Los Angeles Lakers hoped that Anthony Davis would step up and be their leader, with LeBron James being more of a Robin than a Batman. Needless to say, that hasn’t been the case thus far.
Even so, the Lakers are reportedly on the verge of signing him to a contract extension. They’re still committed to him and plan to shut down all speculation about his future.
With that in mind, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Zach Lowe revealed that Darvin Ham could look to keep the NBA champion healthier and happier by pairing him with Jaxson Hayes in the starting lineup.
Lakers Want Jaxson Hayes Next To Anthony Davis
(via Lakers Nation)
“Anthony Davis has been pounding the drum ever since he got to L.A. that he doesn’t like to max out his minutes at the 5. His body takes a beating, he likes having a big next to him for rim protection purposes, etc. etc. etc. They won the championship with big bodies in JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard. The team not only listened to him with the acquisition of Jaxson Hayes but made sure it was known that they listened to him in the comments made by Darvin Ham and Rob Pelinka to various reporters and various outlets, myself included, that this was wanting to replicate kind of the lineup they had in 2020 in order to appease Anthony Davis and make him feel good.
So there is a chance that with their re-upped committal to him with an extension this summer that it includes him saying ‘I want to see that other lineup again.’ So you could very well see Jaxson Hayes, AD, and then I think if you go there, it’s LeBron at the 3, Austin at the 2 and probably DLo. But I think Gabe Vincent will get a chance at some point this year, and they got really good depth… It would not shock me if we saw Jaxson Hayes as the starting center to open up the season to see how that looks, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not gonna see Anthony Davis playing center to in the fourth quarter. That’s winning time.”
Davis will once again be the most important piece of their roster next season, and having a more traditional center next to him might help to keep him healthy once and for all.