re: Nance wanting to come back makes Jax expendable.

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The biggest defense for keeping Jax in this thread has been that he is young and still growing into his body.

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Let me explain to you why we aren't trading Jaxson Hayes. (And I don't even like Jaxson---I'm the opposite of a fanboy.)

1) We have six bigs on the team right now. One of them, Tony Snell, is leaving. We are not going to keep less than five bigs, so, if we're getting rid of Jaxson, the burden is on you to explain how we're getting someone better for less money ($6.8 million next season).

2) Yes, Jaxson is young, but it's not just that he's growing into his body (he is about 10 pounds heavier this season than last). It's also about the trajectory that he's on.

3) This season, Jaxson significantly improved his shooting, his handle, and his perimeter defense. Those are all things that made him playable as a PF. It is reasonable to expect that he will continue to improve, and I'd expect him to be a plus rotation player for us next season.

4) Since his contract expires at the end of next season, he has little trade value right now. All the value that he does have he will still have in the spring at the trade deadline.

5) No, we don't have to make an 8-figure decision on him in a year. It will depend on his development and productions. His QO for the 23-24 season would be $9.1 million, which is certainly reasonable if he's improving and productive. We could extend the QO and let Jaxson explore RFA.

The NBA season is long we need as much depth as possible, it's just a fact Jonas, Larry, and Zion will miss games next season.

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You want Billy to be our best insurance big? What happens if Valuncunias gets hurt next year? Who are you replacing Jaxson with? I’d love to know

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What you're failing to realize here is that while Jax certainly still has promise, Willy was at the very least, every bit as good as Jax this season.

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Which proven players minutes are you sacrificing to give Jax 25+ minutes?

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Who has said give Jax 25+ min?

No, he's going into the last year of his contract. No one is going to trade for him an "upside" player with a year left on his deal. Teams trade for players with a year left if they:

1) Can obviously help them contend in the coming year, and/or

2) They have a large contract, and the expiration of said contract will create cap space.

Neither of those applies to Jaxson Hayes.

I can see us dumping Jaxson in a draft-day deal if we end up selecting a big.

That's the only way that I can envision Jaxson getting dealt.

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e still has plenty enough value to flip him for a role player that fits our team right now.

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Like I said, we aren't dumping him now unless we draft another big, because we need at least five bigs on the roster. Get used to the idea of Jaxson on the roster next season.

Now, at the trade deadline next spring? That could be a different story. But we're likely to see what another summer of development does for Jaxson.

That’s 100% true, but I’m assuming we make a pick in the top 8 to add another piece as well, so that’s why I’m okay with turning 3 pieces into 1 better piece in a trade. Because once we factor Zion back in and our first round draft pick, that replaces the 3 guys we send out.

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Hell, Hayes mentioned in his exit interviews today that he is a guard

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He can say whatever he wants, he's obviously not a guard

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You couldn’t list one god damn thing Billy is better at on offense than Jaxson

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post game.

There, done. That's not even up for debate.