The Los Angeles Lakers will have one additional chess piece on the board if they want to go big-game hunting.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes has decided to waive his no-trade clause to re-sign with the team, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. As a result, the only trade restriction on Hayes will be that he cannot get moved until mid-December (as is the case with any free agent who signs a new deal over the summer).
Hayes decided to return to the Lakers on a one-year deal earlier this month. It was a fairly surprising move on Hayes’ part since he was previously reported to be unhappy with the team.
Per the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, an implied no-trade clause arises when a player signs a one-year deal (or a two-year deal with an option in the second year) with the team that he previously played for. The player has the option of waiving that implied no-trade clause however in order to potentially facilitate a move elsewhere. That previously happened with the Lakers and former guard D’Angelo Russell (who signed a new deal with the team in 2023, waived his implied no-trade clause, and was eventually traded away by the team in 2024).
The former lottery pick Hayes, 25, made 35 starts for the Lakers last season but now returns as their backup center after the addition of Deandre Ayton earlier this summer. Hayes, a seven-footer, managed to post 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2024-25 but is likely to see a decrease in his numbers if Ayton is able to maintain the Lakers’ starting center job next season.
In waiving his implied no-trade clause, Hayes will give the Lakers some increased flexibility to make upgrades and will also open the door for himself to potentially end up in a better situation elsewhere. The Lakers probably won’t be adding another center in free agency with both Ayton and Hayes now in town. But they have been linked to a couple of noteworthy centers on the trade market in months past.
