Jaxson Hayes drafted by Atlanta Hawks, bound for New Orleans Pelicans

By Steve Lansdale

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The player who at times made playing basketball look so easy is now headed to the Big Easy.

After just one season in Austin, Hayes was drafted with the eighth pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. When his name was called, Hayes strode to the stage at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, shook the hand of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and donned the hat of a team for which he won’t play. The Hawks reportedly agreed to a trade with the Pelicans before the draft in which Atlanta received the fourth overall pick in exchange for the No. 8, No. 17 and No. 35 (in the second round) picks in the draft. With that transaction, Hayes is [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]bound for New Orleans, where he will team with first overall pick Zion Williamson on a team that got strong-armed into trading away franchise player Anthony Davis to the Los Angles Lakers; after the Davis trade and the subsequent trade with the Hawks, New Orleans is poised to draft six players before the night is over, pending further subsequent trades.

“It’s really been crazy,” Hayes said in an interview with ESPN’s Maria Taylor after getting selected. “Two years ago today, I was on a high school team, hardly playing … now I’m a lottery pick. So it’s really exciting. I’m just really excited for me and my family.

“I feel like my game has grown a ton — I mean, I’ve grown physically, too — (but) my game, in all aspects, has really grown, as well.”

During his only season at Texas, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year earned second-team All-Big 12 honors, as well as a spot on the conference All-Defensive Team, the conference All-Newcomer Team, the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 8 second team.

The 6-11, 220-pound Hayes was the Longhorns’ third-leading scorer in 2018-19, averaging 10.0 points per game. In doing so, he crushed the Texas single-season record for field goal percentage, connecting on 123 of 169 field goals (72.8 percent); the previous mark had been Dexter Pittman’s 65.4 percent in 2009-10). Hayes led the team and ranked third in the Big 12 with 2.22 blocked shots per game, and was second on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game.

Hayes is the eighth Texas player chosen in the NBA Draft Lottery since its inception in 1985. The others were Kevin Durant (No. 2 pick in 2007), LaMarcus Aldridge (No. 2 pick in 2006), Tristan Thompson (No. 4 pick in 2011), Mohamed Bamba (No. 6 pick in 2018), Chris Mihm (No. 7 pick in 2000), T.J. Ford (No. 8 pick in 2003), D.J. Augustin (No. 9 pick in 2008) and Myles Turner (No. 11 pick in 2015). Since 2004, a lottery pick has included the top 14 selections in the draft.

Hayes stopped short of making specific predictions, other than to say he’s optimistic about teaming with Williamson on the Pelicans’ young front line.

“It’s going to be really exciting,” Hayes said. “I know that.”
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