The Lakers renew Hayes with a 1-year minimum salary, and Ayton s inside partner is already in place

Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers made a big deal, giving away Anthony Davis, Christie and a future first-round pick to win the "European Magician" Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks.

With the joint efforts of Doncic, James, Reeves and Hachimura Shirakami, the Purple and Gold Army showed good strength at the end of the regular season, overcoming obstacles and overcoming difficulties along the way. In the end, the Lakers were directly shortlisted for the playoffs with the third place in the West.

Unexpectedly, when they met the Minnesota Timberwolves, the sixth in the West, the entire Lakers team was easily controlled by their opponents; especially Hayes and Ryan were useless, which caused Gobert, Randle, Reed, McDaniels and others to act recklessly in the penalty area of ​​the Purple and Gold Army, cutting milestone data. It is precisely because the lineup is too deformed that the Lakers have to accept the bitter fruit of ending the first round of the playoffs.

Therefore, in this offseason, for General Manager Pelinka and his team, how to build a competitive team around James and Doncic is undoubtedly their biggest task. To achieve the goal, the most critical step is to strengthen the inside line.

So, we can see that after repeated investigations by the Pelinka team, they did not choose Capela, Lopez and others, but instead signed the 2018 No. 1 pick Aiton for 18 million in two years to assist James, Doncic and Reeves.

However, Pelinka's operation did not stop. According to the famous NBA reporter Shams, center Hayes signed a one-year basic salary contract with the Lakers and returned to the Purple and Gold Army again! According to the labor agreement, since the 2025-26 season will be Hayes' third season with the Lakers, he will get his bird rights after the season, so he will have the trade veto in the new season.

Last season, Hayes played as the Lakers' main center, with his shooting percentage as high as 72.2%, setting a career high. Now, he returns to the Lakers who can run and jump and will work with Ayton to jointly play the inside pillar of the Lakers.