The Lakers continue to fill out their roster in the free-agent market, agreeing to a two-year deal with center Jaxson Hayes, according to a person not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Hayes is the backup center the Lakers were looking for to play behind Anthony Davis.
At 6 feel 11, the Lakers view Hayes as a physical player they believe can play a similar role to that of Dwight Howard in 2020, when the Lakers won their 17th NBA title.
Hayes, 23, spent his first four seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game last season, when he played in only 47 games because of injury, starting two.
Hayes was sentenced last year to 450 hours of community service, 52 weeks of domestic-violence classes and three years of probation after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges that resulted from an incident with his girlfriend in Woodland Hills in July 2021.
Hayes was a first-round draft pick out of Texas in 2019, selected eighth overall by the Atlanta Hawks. He was acquired by New Orleans soon after the draft in a multiple-player deal.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
