#lakers

#lakers

(Julio Cortez / Associated Press) Lakers center Jaxson Hayes has been suspended one game without pay for pushing a Washington Wizards mascot during pregame introductions, the NBA announced Wednesday. The Lakers played the Wizards at Capital One Arena on Friday night. Hayes will miss the Lakers' game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. The backup center is averaging 6.4 points on 77.5% shooting and 3.8 rebounds. He's the primary lob threat for Lakers All-Star Luka Doncic.

From talking to NBA executives and scouts who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, the most likely scenario for the Lakers is to make moves along the margins. NBA people say the Lakers are looking for big wing players, but they said so is most of the league.

The Lakers' defense collapsed in a 132-108 loss to the Suns on Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Center, giving up a season-high field goal percentage (59%), tying their mark for most points allowed this season. Led by 17-for-29 shooting from star guard Devin Booker (21 points) and Dillon Brooks (25 points), the Suns easily eclipsed the 56.5% they shot against the Lakers on Dec. 1.

They saw how "contagious" it was when playing defense at a high level against the Suns and how Jarred Vanderbilt lit the fuse to ignite things for the Lakers in their last victory over Phoenix. And for the Lakers to maintain that defensive mindset, stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James also have to be committed to that end of the court. That was the message from Lakers coach JJ Redick to Doncic and James.

"We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the last 20 seasons," Joey and Jesse Buss told ESPN in a statement. "Thank you to Laker Nation for embracing our family every step of the way. We wish things could be different with the way our time ended with the team. At times like this, we wish we could ask our Dad what he would think about it all."

Victor Wembanyama is remaining optimistic about his development despite another challenging outing in the new NBA season, after the San Antonio Spurs fell 118-116 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. "Personally, I haven't seen this kind of defense from teams," Wembanyama said. "So we need to adapt as a collective. In the Phoenix game, it was the case as well. We got stalled out sometimes. We're learning."

The Lakers were not whole for their season opener and that meant Luka Doncic had a heavier load to carry while LeBron James sat on the bench injured in this game against rivals Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. So, the question while James recovers from sciatica injury on his right side, is who will fill his void and help Doncic navigate the stretch his running mate is out.