Jaxson Hayes Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: Doncic, Ayton, Hayes, Timme

November 26th, 2025 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Luka Doncic put up a monster line of 43 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds against the Clippers on Tuesday to help the Lakers clinch a spot in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, but he had an axe to grind in his post-game media session. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, Doncic isn’t a fan of the special court at Crypto.com Arena for NBA Cup games.

“It’s just slippery. It’s dangerous,” Doncic said. “I slipped. I slipped a lot of times, and you could see a lot of players slipped. And that’s dangerous, man.”

According to Doncic, he didn’t notice any issues with the NBA Cup courts in Memphis or New Orleans during earlier group play games, but he was having traction problems during pre-game warmups on Tuesday and asked a court attendant to do an extra sweep of the floor — it didn’t help.

The Lakers, aware of Doncic’s concerns, are hoping to improve the court before it’s used again on Friday in the team’s final round robin matchup with Dallas, McMenamin writes.

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Starting center Deandre Ayton sat out on Tuesday due to a right knee contusion, but the Lakers aren’t anticipating an extended absence for the big man, according to Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (subscription required). Head coach JJ Redick said there’s some swelling to deal with, but imaging on the knee came back clean. “Don’t think it’s going to be a long-term thing,” Redick said. “Hopefully it’s a game-to-game thing, and he’s back at some point by the end of the week.”
Reserve center Jaxson Hayes got his second start of the season with Ayton out and acquitted himself well — he was a team-high +21 in his 30 minutes of action and came to Doncic’s defense during an altercation with Kris Dunn, as Dan Woike of The Athletic details. After being knocked to the floor by Dunn while battling for rebounding position, Doncic got up to confront the Clippers guard, who responded by pushing the basketball into Doncic’s chest (Twitter video link). Hayes shoved Dunn, resulting in a brief altercation between the two teams. Dunn was ejected and Hayes was hit with a technical foul. “I got (Hayes’ fine for the technical),” Doncic said (Twitter link via Price). “I told him right away.”
Fans in Los Angeles didn’t get a long look at new two-way player Drew Timme in his Lakers debut on Tuesday, as he played just 72 seconds of garbage time in the fourth quarter. However, Redick expressed enthusiasm during his pregame media session about what Timme can do when called upon (Twitter video link via Price). “I think he’s tremendously skilled offensively,” Redick said. “… The thing that’s kind of underrated with him is his defensive rebounding is really good, particularly for his size. He’s produced at every level and I’m looking forward to coaching him.”

Lakers Notes: Ayton, LeBron, Paul, Three-Point Shooting

November 24th, 2025 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers center Deandre Ayton had to leave Sunday’s game in Utah midway through the second quarter due to a right knee contusion, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Ayton continued playing after an early collision with Ace Bailey, but the pain eventually became too intense.

“He had gotten hit on his leg in the first half and was kind of limping through it,” coach JJ Redick said. “And then couldn’t go in the second half.”

Ayton has been a bargain so far on the two-year, $16.6MM contract he signed during the summer after reaching a buyout agreement with Portland. He was averaging 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game coming into Sunday’s contest while shooting 69.6% from the field.

With Ayton sidelined, Jaxson Hayes started the second half and Maxi Kleber logged 14 minutes. Kleber was part of the closing lineup and had a dunk with 1:21 remaining to help L.A. hold on for a two-point victory.

“Obviously, Jaxson has been in a starting role for us before, so very easy for him to step in and into that role,” LeBron James said. “But Maxi gave us big-time minutes. Brought physicality, had a big-time move towards the end to get that dunk.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

James, who finished with 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists in 34 minutes in his second game since returning from sciatica, talked about the process of getting back into playing shape (Twitter video link from Khobi Price of The Orange County Register). “The only way to get back in basketball shape is to be playing the basketball game,” James said. “My wind will get better and better. But this week was kind of like my training camp for me, to be honest. So I’m still working my way back.”
James also offered a message to his longtime friend, Clippers guard Chris Paul, who will retire at the end of the season (video link from McMenamin). “Hope he can just get joy out of this final year,” James said. “… I hope he takes it all in. This is his last hoorah, so we’ll never get this moment again once you’re done to be able to go out and be in the arena.”
The Lakers are off to a 12-4 start despite ranking 26th in the league in three-point shooting percentage, notes Dan Woike of The Athletic. The month-long slump continued Sunday as they were 10-of-38 (26.3%) from long distance. Austin Reaves, who missed seven of his eight three-point attempts at Utah, said the team is finding other ways to win. “I think it’s just chemistry. Care factor’s high,” he said. “You wanna go out there and do whatever you can do to help one another succeed. And I think that that goes a long way. There’s no selfishness; everybody wants to see everybody succeed.”

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Doncic, Hayes, Smart, Thiero, Reaves, Ayton

October 29th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

There’s no firm timetable for LeBron James to resume playing, but Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters before Wednesday’s game that it will likely be during the second or third week of November, relays Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). That confirms a report two weeks ago from ESPN’s Shams Charania, who pegged mid-November as the most likely time for James to return.

James is expected to be reevaluated later this week to determine how much progress he’s made in his bout with sciatica. He reportedly began experiencing the nerve condition during the summer and it affected him through the start of training camp.

Redick also provided an update on Luka Doncic, who is missing his third straight game tonight with a finger sprain and leg contusion. Redick said they hope to have Doncic back in the next “couple of games,” adding that his left hand has gone from twice its normal size to about one and a half times the size it should be (Twitter link). Doncic is considered day-to-day, but he’s not with the team on its current road trip, which ends Friday at Memphis.

There’s more on the Lakers:

Backup center Jaxson Hayes was upgraded to available for tonight’s game after missing the past three contests with soreness in his left knee, per Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link). Hayes played 14 minutes in the opener for his only action this season. Marcus Smart is missing his second straight game with a right quad contusion.
The Lakers announced that Adou Thiero has been cleared for live on-court contact work, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register (Twitter link). The next step is 5-on-5 activities, which will begin soon at practice with the NBA team and the G League South Bay Lakers. The rookie forward is still recovering from a knee injury he suffered in college.
The absences of James and Doncic has forced Austin Reaves into a larger ball-handling role, and he’s formed an instant chemistry with Deandre Ayton, Price states in a full story. Along with his 92 points over the past two games, Reaves has handed out 14 assists, many of them to Ayton as a pick-and-roll partner. “He’s been awesome,” Reaves said. “He’s been very receptive to listening to not only what I have to say, Luka, Bron, the front office, coaches, he’s been very locked into everything that we’ve told him. And then take everything that we told him, but on the back end of that, we give him a voice. We ask him what he wants, what he likes and try to make that work together. Four games in, I feel like he’s continued to build on that, and it’s been very, very good.”

Luka Doncic Out Multiple Games With Finger, Leg Injuries

October 26th, 2025 at 2:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Lakers guard Luka Doncic has been diagnosed with a left finger spain and a lower left leg contusion, the team announced today (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic). The Slovenian star will be reexamined in about a week.

While it’s obviously unfortunate that Doncic is expected to miss multiple games, a source tell Woike there are no long-term concerns about the injuries (Twitter link).

The Lakers play four times this week — at Sacramento on Sunday, vs. Portland on Monday, at Minnesota on Wednesday, and at Memphis on Friday — before returning home to face Miami next Sunday.

Backup center Jaxson Hayes, who is battling left knee soreness, has also been downgraded to out for tonight’s game in Sacramento. It’s the second straight absence for Hayes, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN (via Twitter).

As we previously relayed, Doncic received MVP chants from the home crowd during Friday’s victory over Minnesota. The 26-year-old was off to an incredible start to the season, averaging a league-high 46.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.0 steal through two games.

Doncic reportedly sustained the finger injury early in Friday’s game and had the digit wrapped for the remainder of the contest. It’s unclear when the left leg injury occurred — he suffered a minor injury to the opposite leg in Tuesday’s season-opening loss at Golden State.

With Doncic out and LeBron James (sciatica on his left side) still sidelined, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, Marcus Smart and Dalton Knecht are among the candidates for increased play-making responsibilities.

Doncic appeared in a career-low 50 games last season, largely due to a calf strain he sustained on Christmas. He received lots of attention for getting in better shape during the offseason and had an excellent showing at EuroBasket 2025 with Slovenia.

Injury Notes: Miller, Luka, LaVine, Hawks, Barlow

October 25th, 2025 at 9:20pm CST by Rory Maher

Guard/forward Brandon Miller, who missed most of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, was ruled out for the remainder of Saturday night’s game in Philadelphia due to left shoulder soreness, the Hornets announced (via Twitter).

According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Miller checked out early in the second quarter and “appeared to be in a good amount of pain,” though it wasn’t immediately clear when the injury occurred — or how serious it might be.

Miller, 22, was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 draft and was coming off a solid first game in which he recorded 25 points and seven assists in 31 minutes against Brooklyn.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is questionable for Sunday’s matchup at Sacramento due to a left finger sprain, per the team’s injury report (Twitter link via Jovan Buha). According to Buha, Doncic sustained the injury early in Friday’s victory over Minnesota and had his finger wrapped for the rest of the evening. As we relayed this morning, Doncic broke a franchise record by scoring 92 combined points in the Lakers’ first two games. Jaxson Hayes (left knee soreness) is also questionable for Los Angeles, while Zach LaVine is questionable for the Kings due to an illness, tweets Sean Cunningham of NBC Sacramento.
The Hawks played without their entire starting frontcourt in Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma City, notes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Center Kristaps Porzingis missed his second straight contest with flu-like symptoms, as did 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, who is battling a right ankle sprain. Forward Jalen Johnson missed his first game with his own right ankle sprain.
Forward Dominick Barlow, who has started the Sixers‘ first two games despite being on a two-way contract, was ruled out for the second half of Saturday’s eventual win over Charlotte after suffering a right elbow laceration, tweets Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Another two-way forward, Jabari Walker, got the starting nod in the second half, as Tony Jones of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

Lakers Notes: Doncic, Smart, Lineup, Hayes, James

October 25th, 2025 at 8:15am CST by Dana Gauruder

Luka Doncic is already hearing MVP chants from the home fans, and with good reason. The Lakers star guard has racked up 92 points in the team’s first two games — the most by a player in consecutive games to begin a season in team history, Dan Woike of The Athletic notes. Doncic scored 49 points in 35 minutes in a win over the Timberwolves on Friday.

“He, of course, dominates the whole game so easily,” forward Rui Hachimura told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And it’s not some random team we played against. They’re a Western Conference Finals team. So this is crazy.”

Minnesota knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs last season but Doncic didn’t have revenge on his mind.

“I just want to forget about last season,” he said. “I was trying to move on. I don’t really think about that first-round series.”

We have more on the Lakers:

Marcus Smart signed a two-year contract in July after being bought out by the Wizards. He showed his worth on Friday with his defense and energy, Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times writes. Smart had just three points and zero rebounds in 21 minutes, but the Lakers outscored Minnesota by 24 points during his time on the floor. “Unfortunately my stats aren’t going to do me any justice, so I try not to worry about it,” Smart said. “I just try to go out there, and like I said, do what I’m supposed to do, and help my teammates out the best way I can. Being plus-24 is great and everything and it definitely shows the impact that can be made without touching the ball, scoring the ball, shooting the ball.”
Coach JJ Redick has used the same starting five in the first two games, deploying Deandre Ayton, Doncic, Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves and Hachimura, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. Dalton Knecht was also in the first-half rotation after being a DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) in the team’s opener.
Jaxson Hayes was ruled out on Friday because of left knee soreness, Price adds. Hayes played 14 minutes in the opener against Golden State.
Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones allegedly gave gamblers inside information regarding LeBron James‘ availability for a couple of games during the 2022/23 season. James, according to Woike and The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, was unaware that someone he considered a friend was tipping information about him and the Lakers for betting purposes.

Lakers Notes: Hayes, Starting Lineup, Injuries, Lobs

October 19th, 2025 at 8:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Jaxson Hayes is dealing with a light sprain in his right wrist, but believes that he’ll be ready to go for the Lakers‘ regular season opener on Tuesday, reports Dan Woike of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Hayes left Friday’s preseason game early after injuring his wrist, but he says he’s ready to play through the injury. He is slotted to serve as the primary backup to Deandre Ayton this season after starting a career-high 35 games for the Lakers last season.

Hayes also spoke at greater length about his intention to become eligible for a Slovenian passport and play international basketball alongside Lakers’ teammate Luka Doncic, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter video link).

“We have the same agent, and my parents and his parents are all kind of working on it right now,” Hayes said. “But they came to me with the idea… I wanted to play on that stage, and I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get on that stage.”

Hayes added that Doncic and his family had been discussing the idea with him for the last year and a half. Woike confirmed (via Twitter) that Hayes is serious about the plan.

We have more Lakers news:

The Lakers unleashed their LeBron James-less opening night starting five in the preseason finale, writes McMenamin. The unit featured Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura alongside Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Ayton. McMenamin reports that Vincent, who averaged 16.2 points on 55.6% shooting from three during his strong preseason, was informed of his promotion on Friday morning. “I do think in that lineup there’s lot of shooting around Luka and [Ayton], and Gabe is another ball-handler, another tough defender, said head coach JJ Redick. “I think he fits in well, but you have to take a look at every matchup we play against and have to make a decision there.” The Lakers went just 1-5 during the preseason.
Redick shared some minor injury updates on Sunday afternoon, as relayed via Twitter by SoCal News Group’s Khobi Price. Chris Manon, on a two-way deal, was a full participant after previously suffering a Grade 2 ankle sprain. Bronny James and rookie Adou Thiero were modified participants as they look to return from ankle and knee injuries, respectively.
There’s a specific part of the Lakers’ offensive approach that Redick is concerned about heading into the season. “We’ve got to figure out our lobs,” Redick said, as reported by Price (Twitter video link). Redick added that a good lob connection is based on “concentration plus control.” Reaves expanded on that, discussing the difference between running the two-man game with Ayton as opposed to Hayes or Anthony Davis. “Every player is not the same,” he said. “I can throw some lobs to Jaxson that I can’t throw to DA. I can throw pocket passes to DA that I can’t throw to Jaxson. So it’s just reading personnel on the court and getting reps every single day together.”

Injury Notes: Queen, White, Brown, Raptors, Rockets, More

October 18th, 2025 at 2:08pm CST by Rory Maher

Rookie big man Derik Queen has been medically cleared to participate in full basketball activities, the Pelicans announced today (via Twitter).

Head coach Willie Green said Queen was a full participant in Saturday’s practice, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. While the team wants to get Queen up to speed, Green said New Orleans will be careful not to rush the process after a lengthy layoff.

Queen has been rehabilitating from July surgery to address a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist, an injury he sustained at Summer League in Las Vegas. He was a limited participant during New Orleans’ training camp due to the injury.

Queen was selected with the 13th overall pick in June after the Pelicans sent Atlanta this year’s No. 23 selection and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder (the most favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s picks) for the right to draft the Maryland big man, who was highly productive in his lone season with the Terrapins. In 36 games last season, the 20-year-old forward/center averaged 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 30.4 minutes per contest.

We have several more injury notes from around the NBA:

Bulls guard Coby White, who has been battling a calf strain since August and didn’t play in any preseason games this fall, “looked good” after going through most of the contact portions of Saturday’s practice, according to head coach Billy Donovan (Twitter links K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network). Donovan added that White would go through additional contact work on Monday after taking Sunday off. For his part, White said he was encouraged by today’s session, though he cautioned he’s still working on regaining his conditioning and rhythm. “We’ll see. It’s in the works,” White said of potentially playing in Chicago’s season opener, per Johnson.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown sustained a left hamstring injury in Wednesday’s preseason finale. As Jay King of The Athletic writes, head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t say whether Brown would be active for next Wednesday’s season opener, but the injury doesn’t sound serious — Brown is considered day-to-day, per Mazzulla.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic expressed optimism that lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles could be ready for Wednesday’s season opener in Atlanta after the former South Carolina forward sustained an arm injury last week, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links), Murray-Boyles is day-to-day with a right forearm strain.
Although Raptors center Jakob Poeltl missed time during preseason with lower back stiffness and exited Friday’s preseason finale with the same injury, Rajakovic clarified after the game that the Austrian big man was pulled for precautionary reasons (Twitter links via Lewenberg). Poeltl is under contract through 2029/30 after signing a lucrative long-term extension in July.
Forward Jae’Sean Tate, who underwent offseason ankle surgery, went through contract drills in Saturday’s practice, per Rockets head coach Ime Udoka (Twitter link via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle). The team remains optimistic that Tate will be available for Houston’s season opener, but Dorian Finney-Smith probably won’t be, according to Udoka. Finney-Smith, a free agent addition, is recovering from June ankle surgery.
Former Alabama forward Grant Nelson was originally expected to sign an Exhibit 10 deal with the Nets shortly after Summer League in July, but the signing was delayed until a few days ago due to an otherwise unspecified “stress reaction from overworking,” he told Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “It was like a small, little minor injury that held me out of training camp. And then I feel like I did everything I could. I caught the injury really early, so I wasn’t out long. But it worked out perfect. So now I’m back healthy, feeling 100 percent.”
Backup Lakers center Jaxson Hayes exited Friday’s preseason finale with a right wrist contusion, the team announced (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic). Head coach JJ Redick said after the game that X-Rays on the wrist were negative, with another update on Hayes expected to come on Sunday, as veteran NBA report Mark Medina relays (via Twitter).
Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija experienced upper back stiffness on Thursday in Utah, causing him to exit Portland’s preseason finale, per the team (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Avdija will miss additional time as a result of the injury.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Christie, Westbrook, Hayes, Collins

October 17th, 2025 at 8:39am CST by Luke Adams

Within a story breaking down the Kings‘ decision to sign Russell Westbrook, Sam Amick of The Athletic says that “hordes” of opposing scouts have been attending Sacramento games during the preseason, since teams around the league anticipate that the Kings will be sellers at February’s trade deadline.

Westbrook is among several players on the Kings’ roster who will have something to prove this season, according to Amick, who notes that head coach Doug Christie falls into that category too.

As Amick details, citing league sources, the new contract that Christie signed in the spring when he was named the team’s permanent head coach is only guaranteed for two seasons, with a third-year team option. And his salary is only about $2MM annually in those first two years, followed by a significant increase if his option is exercised. In other words, Christie will have plenty of motivation to show during the next couple years that he deserves to keep his job.

We have more from around the Pacific Division:

Malik Monk, who played with Westbrook in Los Angeles, is excited to have his former teammate join the Kings, as Sean Cunningham of KCRA News relays (Twitter video link). Referring to Westbrook as “probably one of the best teammates I had,” Monk added that he thinks Westbrook can hold his own as an undersized power forward and defend opposing fours, which would help the club while Keegan Murray (thumb surgery) is sidelined.
After teaming up with Luka Doncic as members of the Lakers, center Jaxson Hayes wants to do so in international basketball competitions too. Hayes told reporters this week that he’s working on getting Slovenian citizenship in the hopes of representing the country in future competitions, per Eurohoops. A spokesperson for the Slovenian Basketball Federation confirmed that discussions are ongoing about adding a naturalized player at the center spot, but declined to offer specifics or confirm that Hayes is the player in question. “We are aiming to secure this player for a longer period to ensure the team’s stability in the coming years,” that spokesperson said.
Speaking to Law Murray of The Athletic about the offseason deal that sent him from Utah to Los Angeles and his expectations for the coming season, John Collins said the Clippers were “one of the first teams” he thought of when his name began to pop up in trade rumors. His head coach and teammates also expressed excitement about the fit. “It’s great. We get a big player like John on the floor, alongside Kawhi (Leonard), teams have a nightmare as far as matching up,” Tyronn Lue said. “You want to put a smaller guy on John, or a smaller guy on Kawhi? … (Collins’) versatility on both sides of the basketball is a huge thing for us.”

Free Agent Rumors: Guards, Kuminga, Pacers, Hayes

July 7th, 2025 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

An expectation that Bradley Beal will soon become an unrestricted free agent is affecting the markets for free agent guards Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Malcolm Brogdon, who are drawing interest from many of the same teams, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

According to Fischer, the Clippers, Lakers, Bucks, and Timberwolves are among the teams expected to have interest in signing Beal if and when he finalizes a buyout agreement with the Suns, which seems increasingly likely. A previous report also identified the Warriors as a possible suitor for Beal, with the Heat viewed as less likely after their trade for Norman Powell.

The Clippers and Bucks are known to have interest in Paul, Fischer points out, so if Beal ends up with one of those teams, it would likely rule that club out for CP3, perhaps increasing the odds of the 40-year-old reuniting with the Suns.

As for Brogdon, he has the Clippers, Suns, Lakers, Warriors, Timberwolves, and Bucks are also among the teams that have registered some level of interest in him, along with the Pelicans and Kings, Fischer reports.

Free agents like De’Anthony Melton and Ben Simmons may also find themselves involved in this game of backcourt musical chairs, according to Fischer, who suggests that their potential landing spots should become more clearer once one or two of those top guards – starting with Beal – finds a new home.

Here are a few more notes on free agents from around the NBA:

There was no traction on the Jonathan Kuminga front over the weekend, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Slater, the Kings have been the most aggressive suitor for the Warriors restricted free agent so far, but nothing has come close. In fact, the market for all of the top restricted free agents remains “ice cold,” Slater adds.
The Pacers are expected to reunite with a pair of familiar faces to fill out their frontcourt. Speaking to reporters today, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said the club is planning to re-sign James Wiseman and that things are trending in the right direction with restricted free agent Isaiah Jackson (Twitter links via Tony East).
Veteran center Jaxson Hayes gave up his right to veto a trade this season when he re-signed with the Lakers, reports Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link). By default, a player re-signing with his previous team on a one-year contract gets a de facto no-trade clause, but a team can ask a player to waive that right as part of his new deal.