re: Jaxson Hayes

I think the staff biggest goal this offseason is figuring how they are going to implement Hayes into the offense. They've only really used Hayes as a clean up option on the offensive end when the squad was healthy. What we are seeing now is that he's so much more capable as an offensive threat than they've used him for most of the season.


Unfortunately Hayes and Zion kind of shares the same space so they're obviously are going to favor Zion when they're in the game together. They should really start preparing Hayes to use mid range shot going into next season. He can be a nice bailout pass for Zion when he works the paint if he can hit those type of shots with some consistency.

What we are seeing is that Hayes gets his confidence when he is involved in the offense in which leads to more energy and confidence on the defensive end. I don't think it's a coincidence that his best
defensive games usually comes from games where he gets touches on the offensive end.

Either way, it's great to see his development. His defense is still very much a WIP. He's still relying a lot on his physical tools vs technique and basketball IQ. I expect this to develop over the course of next season as he receives consistent playing time.

As far as Adams is concerned, he's still going to be valuable for the team and for Hayes as well. You always need a lumbering brick wall to balance out a guy like Hayes since he's still not where he needs to be in terms of weight and strength. I think Adams for 1 more season would be fine as long as Hayes continues to take playing time away from Adams and Adams will only really receives more minutes when the matchups call for it.

All in all, Hayes and NAW needs to be a big part of next season's contributors.