Is Deandre Ayton, Jaxon Hayes & Maxi Kleber ENOUGH for Lakers big man rotation?

Is Deandre Ayton, Jaxon Hayes & Maxi Kleber ENOUGH for Lakers big man rotation?

Is there a defensive big that the Lakers could pick up that’ll offset Eightton’s inability to defend consistently? So, first of all, the free agent market for centers is very limited. I talked yesterday about the Mark Stein report that came out regarding Al Horford and him potentially or as he said destined to go to the Golden State Warriors. And it was actually in the context in his report in the context of the Jonas Valenuna situation. in this situation where Yonas has apparently already engaged in conversations with a team over in Greece and he would like to be uh bought out or be relieved from his contract with the Denver Nuggets so that he can go overseas and play and Denver does not want to let him do that. Denver wants to force him to honor his contract. The main reason being that they need a backup center to play off of Jokic. And you know, obviously Dron Holmes is a is an interesting option, but he’s young and coming off of an Achilles tear, so you don’t want to be like super dependent on that. And as Mark Stein pointed out in that report, there’s not another great option to pivot to. Horford is really the only other guy out there. And as I mentioned, and as Mark Stein mentioned, it appears that he’s headed to Golden State in all likelihood. So the point is is there’s not a lot of really quality options out there in the free agent market. Now, the Lakers did end up resigning Jackson Hayes. I think he’ll do fine as a backup. I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep someone like Christian Koko around on a two-way contract to help, you know, with certain defensive looks. But Maxi Kiba, I think, is going to end up being a guy I wouldn’t be surprised if Maxi ends up basically winning the backup center spot from Jackson Hayes. The main reason why is, let’s look at the situation. The Lakers under JJ Reic have done a lot more switching. This is a a big in Maxi Cleber that I think that’s his specific strength compared to most backup centers around the league. Maxi is a pretty small pretty solid switch defender. He moves his feet pretty well. He’s got good instincts. He takes good angles. He’s just generally better at that than most of the u backup center level players that are out there. And so I, you know, he already has chemistry with Lucas, like a stretch five. I I could see Maxi just beating Jackson out for that secondary spot. But again, there’s not a lot of great options out there in the free agent market. And I think going from Eightton to having three different kind of like backup options for different looks, like Jackson Hayes being your traditional rim runner for certain looks where you need his vertical spacing, you know, a Christian Koko on a two-way contract as more of like a defensive-minded motor big for certain situations. And then Maxi Kibba as the veteran stretch five that can defend in a switching scheme. I I think that that’s perfectly fine considering the Lakers were able to achieve that center rotation without having to give up really anything in the way of assets, which maintains their asset flexibility if they want to make a move for a wing, someone like an Andrew Wiggins or a Herb Jones, something along those lines. I know the trend and emphasis for NBA bigs in recent years has been threes and stretching the floor, but hearing about talented guys like Eightton having more potential than actual postgame. Why does a guy like that not really go after developing a serious post game? You watch male and his torture chamber and Elijahan and the dream shake. If a guy like Aton really went after some of those guys and even had a poor man’s level, he would be better than most in the league or have or or could handle. I guess it’s just not having the drive going by his inattentive mediocre overall defense. I guess it’s that. So, this is a complicated issue and I actually think this is a very interesting topic uh that you’re bringing up here with this question. So, why is it that we don’t see more postup players dominating in the NBA? Uh if you go look at uh uh Synergy for example, the high volume guys, the Jokic’s, the Embiids, those types of guys, they are in like an entirely different tier of volume of post-ups and then there’s just like a giant drop off and there’s just not that many guys who do it outside of of those two. Now, even Jokic compared to Embiid brings another level to just the sheer amount of posting up that he does. And so what I my theory with this actually has more to do with the way the game has changed defensively and how difficult it is to generate offense out of the post if you can’t pass the ball. So, with the way that teams space the floor defensively now and with the type of athleticism and speed that’s on the floor, it’s very easy to load up on a post player and make one pass available, an over the over-the-top pass that goes across the court to the opposite corner or to the opposite wing that usually has to go through a bunch of traffic or has to fly looping over the top in order to get there. And it’s just a lot easier than it used to be to double team or shade or heavily uh uh send help towards a post player and take away that option without really conceding anything super damaging. I’ve watched this for years as a guy who covers Anthony Davis. And Anthony Davis made progress and got better at it, but there was a reason why they never went to Anthony Davis the same volume that they went to Nicole Joic in Denver. And it was because inevitably if he had some success down there, teams would start loading up and AD just couldn’t make the reads. When I was evaluating Aon uh as part of the Lakers uh signing him and I went back and watched all of this tape, Eightton’s postups often went arry because he didn’t trust his ability to go to power because of the help defense. And so he’d either turn it over against the help defense or he would settle for some difficult over-the-top shot. And that really is the final piece of it. If you want to put everything together to be an elite high volume post player in the NBA, you have to have the combination of really physically imposing size with high high level playmaking to be able to break apart the defense when they load up on you. And then the third piece of it is the touch. Like we talk about this all the time with layups. You watch these guys around the league, you know, when it comes to layups, sometimes they’re shooting 50 55%. you know, the really good layup shooters are 60 65%. It’s because anything that is a two-point shot that is contested, that isn’t a wide openen layup or a dunk, the percentages in the efficiency tank from there. 55% on a layup is like 1.1 points per shot. That’s not great for a layup, right? You’re expecting more efficiency there. And it craters even further when you go out further away. Like let’s say you’ve got a decent hook shot. Like you’ve got a you’re 45% on hook shots. That seems like a good percentage, right? That’s only.9 points per attempt. And so there’s a level of short range shot making that you need in order to be a reliable postup threat as well to command the defense a certain way to unlock that playmaking talent. That’s why you look at Yok it just kind of feels like Joic and then the rest of the league when it comes to posting up. It’s because of that difficult dynamic. There’s a, you know, Aton has actually a decent hook shot, but he really struggles to handle all the helpside defense. And so defenders press up on him, they pack the paint, he turns the ball over, he settles for these turnaround fadeaway jump shots that he can’t make. Even with Joic, when he has to go to further away shot making, like some of those turnarounds, like some of those deeper hook shots, he can still make those at 55 60%. And that’s what makes him such a dynamic post player. But I think that the league has just become so fast and so sophisticated defensively that teams have just found a way to greatly diminish the impact of post players if they do not have those talents. And you know when we see other guys like you look at a Shangon for instance who’s had some impact as a post player. It’s power mixed with short range shotm and he’s got some playmaking talent although it’s not where it needs to be to be at the level of the best post players in the league. That’s why it’s not as simple as just, yo, you got to go into the the gym and rep out footwork and hook shots. No, that’s that that’s not the pathway to success in the post in the NBA. It is a combination of that with reliable short- range shot making and the ability to interpret what the defense is doing and to make the reads. And there just aren’t that many guys who can do that.

Jason discusses some of the weaknesses of Deandre Ayton’s game, how that could impact LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the Los Angeles Lakers, and whether there’s enough from Maxi Kleber and Jaxon Hayes to supplement LA’s big man rotation.

Follow Jason Timpf on social:
Tweets by _JasonLT
https://www.instagram.com/jtimpf15/

Follow us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/hoopstonight/
https://x.com/hoopstonite
https://www.facebook.com/hoopstonight/

@hoopstonightjasontimpf

Learn more about the Volume:
https://www.thevolume.com

GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, (800) 327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY).

Please Gamble Responsibly. 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), or visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org (MD).

21+ and present in most states. (18+ DC/KY/NH/WY). Void in ONT/OR/NH. Eligibility restrictions apply. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino & Resort (KS).1 per new customer. $5+ first-time bet req. Max. $150 issued as non-withdrawable Bonus Bets that expire in 7 days (168 hours). Stake removed from payout. Terms: sportsbook.draftkings.com/promos. Ends 3/16/25 at 11:59 PM ET. Sponsored by DK.

#nba #nbaplayoffs #nbafinals #nbahighlights #nbabasketball #basketball #sports #reaction #lakers #losangeleslakers #deandreayton #lukadoncic #lebronjames