From oops to aahs, Jaxson Hayes and the Lakers work to catch more passes than Luka Doncic
The 7-footer missed the second half of Friday’s exhibition game with a right wrist contusion after catching a lob from Luka Doncic and was knocked into the air while throwing down a two-handed dunk in the first quarter. He remained in the game for the second quarter and expects to be ready for Tuesday’s regular season opener against the Golden State Warriors.
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“Being an idiot,” Hayes said after practice Sunday of how he got hurt on the play. “I shouldn’t have tried to catch myself, I should have just fallen.”
Hayes scored six points in the preseason loss to the Sacramento Kings, all on soaring dunks. He and Doncic connected on Hayes’ first basket of the game while playing together in the preseason for the first time.
Read more: Luka Doncic strong again, but the Kings mobilize to beat the Lakers
Doncic’s wizardry in the pick-and-roll makes him an athletic rim-running center’s dream, while the crafty point guard lets passes from every angle imaginable. But in Doncic’s first training camp with the Lakers since last year’s midseason trade, players, including new center Deandre Ayton, are still adjusting to Doncic’s passing.
While coach JJ Redick said he was pleased with the Lakers’ 28 assists and 10 turnovers in the preseason game against the Kings, he estimated that the team missed seven assist opportunities due to missed lobs or overly complicated passes.
“For all the bigs and point guards, when you start playing with a new big or a new point guard, it’s a learning period,” Hayes said. “You just learn how they like their screens. You learn how they like you to roll to the basket. It’s just little things. You learn where they like to pass the ball to you…. It’s just those guys [Doncic and Ayton] they’re understanding each other, just like Luka and I did last year.”
The chemistry between Hayes and Doncic has become so strong that Hayes has been recruited to join the Slovenian national team and has said he is working on obtaining a Slovenian passport. He and Doncic are both clients of agent Bill Duffy, and Doncic and his family have been involved in the process for about a year and a half, Hayes said.
Hayes has been watching Slovenia’s run to the EuroBasket quarterfinals with a keen eye, knowing that joining the team could be a possibility for him in the future. FIBA allows each national team to have one naturalized player, which basketball’s international governing body defines as a player who obtains a passport to that country after turning 16.
Hayes said he hopes to represent the United States, but USA Basketball has no open tryouts for senior national teams.
“I just wanted to play on that stage,” Hayes said. “So I will do whatever it takes to play on that stage.”
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The Lakers trimmed their roster to 14 players on standard contracts on Saturday, waiving RJ Davis, Augustas Marciulionis, Anton Watson and Nate Williams after training camp officially ended. The team retained center Christian Koloko and guards Chris Manon and Nick Smith Jr. on two-way contracts. … Manon injured her ankle during the training camp, but participated fully in training on Sunday. Bronny James (ankle) and rookie Adou Thiero (knee) underwent modified training.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.