Jaxson Hayes – F/C Texas
Jaxson Hayes might be my early preference for the Clippers. Standing 6’11 with a 7’3 wingspan, Hayes has heavily impressed in his freshman year at Texas.
He’s alright on the offensive end as a rim runner, putting up 10.3 points per game, but his real benefit comes from his defense. In his 26 games for the Longhorns, he is blocking 2.3 shots per game. His length and size (he’s 220 pounds) should translate well into the NBA. In fact, he has had four games with four or more blocked shots.
There is room to add a little more muscle and he is still raw on the offensive end, but he could be the perfect supplemental center, given he shows the right kind of growth.
Tankathon notes his poor rebounding as his biggest detractor. For his size and length, 5.2 rebounds is extremely low. He also has not proven himself as any sort of shooter and his free throw percentage has hovered around 75%. Yes, there is potential in him learning to shoot, but that seems like something that will develop well down the road.
Hayes has a lot to be excited about though. Big men in the NBA nowadays are either stretch bigs or elite rim protectors. He has the potential to fall into the latter. For the Clippers who are searching for that, he could provide instant energy off the bench alongside Montrezl Harrell almost immediately. Against backup centers, his deficiencies may not get exposed as badly and he could learn on the fly.