According to the latest NBA injury report, the Lakers have ruled out Smart, who is dealing with a right quad contusion sustained during the win against the Kings, Meanwhile, big man Hayes suffered left patellar tendinopathy following the season-opening loss to the Warriors, but is available to play tonight.

The team’s injury report still lists several players as officially ruled out: Luka Doncic (left finger sprain and leg contusion), LeBron James (right sciatica), Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle strain), Gabe Vincent (left ankle sprain), and Adou Thiero (left knee surgery recovery), and now Smart is joining that long list.

Since his debut, Smart has played in three of the Lakers’ four contests, where he has averaged 7.7 points, 1.0 rebound, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal while shooting 43.8 percent from the field. Hayes, on the other hand, only played in the opener against the Warriors, registering four points, six rebounds, and one assist while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor.

Impact of Smart and Hayes’ potential return

Following the loss to the Blazers, Lakers Coach JJ Redick stressed the difficulty of running the offense efficiently without primary ball handlers, citing the simultaneous absences of Doncic and James.

This situation forced Austin Reaves to take over both roles. Reaves responded by leading the offense and logging a huge scoring night—41 points, along with four rebounds and five assists—a heroic effort that ultimately wasn’t enough to secure the win.

The return of Smart would have been a necessary lift for the Lakers to take some workload off Reaves, but ultimately, it will not happen in tonight’s contest against the Timberwolves.

As for Hayes, his return would provide a significant boost at the center position, offering a quality backup option for Deandre Ayton, who posted 16 points, eight rebounds, and two assists in the defeat to the Blazers.

Despite the controversy, Jaxon Hayes continues to play for the Lakers and has shown good performance on the court. However, the team and the league are closely monitoring the evolution of the situation.

Lakers coach JJ Redick has expressed his commitment to cooperating with the league and has left the resolution of the case in the hands of the authorities. “We’re obviously aware that the investigation has been reopened, and we’re going to cooperate fully. But other than that, I’m not going to have any further comment on that,” he stated.

Jaxson Hayes, speaking to the media after the loss against the Pistons, said, “Me and my team are working on cooperating with the league regarding all that, and I don’t have any other comments about it right now.”

The precedent in the NBA

Hayes’ situation is reminiscent of the case involving Kevin Porter Jr., who also faced domestic violence allegations. The Houston Rockets, his team at the time, took drastic measures and eventually traded him to the Thunder. However, in Hayes’ case, the Pelicans, his team in 2021, did not take any disciplinary action, and the NBA did not intervene at that time either.

Hayes’ future with the Lakers in the NBA

The outcome of the NBA investigation could significantly impact Hayes’ career. If additional evidence of domestic violence is found, the player could face severe penalties. For now, Hayes continues to play for the Lakers and hopes the situation will be resolved soon.

The chemistry between Anthony Davis and Hayes, along with the talent and experience of the rest of the team, could elevate the Lakers to success. Davis’ presence attracts defensive attention, creating opportunities for Hayes to take advantage of open space and score more easily.

“I really like it a lot because when that happens, I can focus on just crashing and playing in the dunker and setting ball screens because I know AD has already been in the whole quarter, so I got to pick up a little bit for him,” Hayes commented following the Lakers’ preseason game against the Golden State Warriors. “Also, it’s just that he brings all of the extra attention, so it’s like, I can sit in the dunker and kind of get easy buckets whenever he’s in. So I like it a lot.”

Hayes values the consistency in the minutes he has received during the preseason, which allows him to find his rhythm. “I like it a lot,” Hayes added. “I feel like for role guys like me, it’s all about just getting in a rhythm, coming in and getting in a rhythm. I feel like with that first group, it’s nice and easy to come in and get a rhythm with them.”

Hayes’ adaptation with the Lakers and coach JJ Redick

Jaxson Hayes has found a good connection with coach JJ Redick. Despite various coaching changes throughout his career, Hayes has quickly adapted to the schemes and terminology used by Redick.

“It’s definitely a little bit of difficulty but luckily for me, I feel like JJ, when they came, they used most of the same terminology me and JJ used in New Orleans,” Hayes said. “Also Coach [Bob Beyer] was with us in New Orleans for our defense, so I feel like with this coaching staff it has been pretty easy just because I already knew most of the stuff with them because we’ve run it before. But stuff like that is always gonna take time, that’s why you got to take this preseason and use it to get ready and get ramped up for the year.”

The new players who have joined the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason have two goals: one is to strengthen the roster and cover all the offensive and defensive gaps, and the second is to take the burden off the starters and with a new center Anthony Davis could avoid injuries during the regular season.

The Lakers recently signed Jaxson Hayes in what has been considered a good move by the franchise. He is a fast player who can contribute a lot to the offensive strategy, but they still need a stronger center who is at the same level of Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic.

The Lakers want to be contenders in the upcoming season, but with so many changes and readjustments within the roster, things could get complicated for them, especially if new players take time to adjust.

Who are the centers that the Lakers are considering?

According to an article in The Athletic and reporter Jovan Buha, the Lakers are actively looking for another center to cover the 14th spot on the roster. Two names came to light: Christian Wood and Bismack Biyombo.

Both players have enough experience to join the Lakers, especially Biyombo who played the 2022-2023 season for the Phoenix Suns and has been playing in the league since 2011. On the other hand, Christian Wood is one of the most valuable free agents at the moment who could contribute a lot to the franchise.

Rob Pelinka did a great job fixing the roster in February, pulling off the right moves just before the trade deadline to give Darvin Ham’s team a new look. It paid off, since they ended up making the Conference Finals against all odds.

However, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets showed them they still have a lot of work to do to contend. Therefore, the Lakers’ front office stayed busy in the last few days bringing more help for The King.

Lakers officially announce four new players

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers have officially announced four new players for the 2023-24 NBA season: Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes, Taurean Prince, and Cam Reddish.

All of them were available on the open market, which is why the Purple and Gold are seen as the biggest winners of the free agency. On top of that, the Lakers managed to re-sign key contributors such as Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. So, yes, LeBron has reasons to be happy in LA.