"WORST rim protecting duos in the league" - Lakers fans voice frustration as Jaxson Hayes re-signs with LA as backup center

The LA Lakers strengthened their frontcourt on Thursday after re-signing center Jaxson Hayes. NBA insider Shams Charania reported on X (formerly Twitter) that Hayes signed a one-year deal to return to the team.

According to Charania, the big man's agents, Bill Duffy and Marlon Harrison of WME Basketball, negotiated the deal with Rob Pelinka on Thursday.

Hayes was a productive big man during the 2024-25 NBA season. When L.A. had a blockbuster trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, the center already had momentum as a starter. He established his starting role when the front office's attempt to trade for Mark Williams didn't push through.

Hayes finished the last 32 games as a starter, averaging 8.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He paired well with All-Star guard Luka Doncic, who operates well in pick-and-roll situations.

In the playoffs, Hayes wasn't the best defensive big man for the team. He was limited to four out of the five games they had against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 25-year-old big man averaged 7.8 minutes and put up 1.8 points and two rebounds as LA was eliminated in the first round of the postseason.

Management wants him to return as a backup center for Deandre Ayton, who signed with the team on Wednesday. Fans went abuzz after the deal with Hayes.

"Him and Ayton gotta be one of the WORST rim protecting duos in the league," a fan pointed out.

"This is the one center we did NOT want Pelinka," another fan commented.

"THEY THOUGHT THEY WAS GETTING HORFORD😭😭😭😭😭😭" one fan mocked the Lakers.

Other fans didn't see anything wrong with the signing.

"He isn’t a bad backup center. He just isn’t a consistent starter at this point yet," a fan commented.

"He’s really not a bad backup yall trippin," a comment read.

"If he could shoot as good as he shot last year “72%” this is a good signing for a backup center," someone said.

Walker Kessler's high cost might be the reason why the Lakers couldn't make the trade

The Lakers wanted a starting center since trading away Ayton. One of their prime targets was Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler. However, the Jazz asked too much from Rob Pelinka in exchange for the defensive big man.

According to NBA insider Jovan Buha, the Jazz wanted two first-round picks and a young player in a trade package. Buha said that the Lakers can't fulfill Utah's request and the best they could offer was "one pick and one young player and a swap."

The Lakers didn't have to deal with that after Ayton agreed to a two-year, $16.6 million deal to join the team.