Chicago Bulls: 5 big men from the NBA playoffs to target in free agency
By Ryan Heckman
Free agent big men from NBA Playoffs the Chicago Bulls should target: Jaxson Hayes, New Orleans Pelicans
Type: Restricted
2022-2023 regular season stats: 13.0 minutes, 5.0 points (55.1 percent shooting), 2.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.4 blocks, 0.4 steals
Back prior to the 2019 NBA Draft, Jaxson Hayes was definitely someone on Bulls fans’ radars. Coming out of Texas, Hayes was known to be an athletic, energetic big man who could protect the rim and offer some inside scoring at times.
After being the no. 9 overall pick in that draft, Hayes has played four seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans and actually saw his role diminish to the lowest usage he’s had yet as a pro. Last He went from playing 20.0 minutes per game during the 2021-2022 campaign to just 13.0 minutes last year.
Hayes would be no more than a reserve, but he’d be a valuable one. His energy and athleticism is something Bulls fans could appreciate at the United Center, especially if he were to find himself on a fast break. Hayes is still young at just 22 years old and can continue to develop into a strong rotation player in this league. He would also come fairly cheap.