Los Angeles Clippers: What Chuck Hayes Signing Means

Veteran big man Chuck Hayes signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, according to Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears.

Hayes’ contract is good for the veteran’s minimum of $1.5 million and fills the Clippers roster capacity at 15. If the Clippers are to acquire another player, somebody currently on the roster will have to be moved.

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Hayes had an interesting offseason as it was initially believed that Hayes would be signing with the Houston Rockets after the two sides seemed headed to a partially guaranteed one-year deal.

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The Rockets made a few moves that jeopardized the situation, such as the trade that brought Ty Lawson to Houston and Jason Terry‘s decision to forego retirement and continue playing for the Rockets. Hayes’ agent Calvin Andrews announced that the deal between the two sides was no longer in place on Aug. 27 and that Hayes would be moving on.

It didn’t take long before the Clippers swooped in to sign the veteran.

Hayes has a reputation as an excellent post defender despite being only 6’6″. The 32-year-old Hayes appeared in only 29 games with the Raptors last season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game. Hayes’ effectiveness cannot be measured by traditional stats,  but more by advanced stats and the eye test.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Hayes started his career off with the Houston Rockets under general manager Daryl Morey, an advanced stats expert. Hayes is still very much the same player he was in his early Houston days.

Clippers fans will likely see more of Hayes in a suit and tie than they will in their new uniforms. The roster is full at 15 and Hayes would seem a likely candidate to be towards the bottom of the roster in terms of talent.

Behind DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Josh Smith, and Cole Aldrich, there’s little opportunity for Hayes to make a real impact on the court without some sort of injury news. Hayes reportedly got offers to join the Rockets in a coaching capacity after their deal for him to play for them fell through. Hayes could have a future after his playing career as a coach.

This role with the Clippers could allow him to be a player while also gaining skills as a coach, not unlike the role Juwan Howard served with the Miami Heat before officially joining their coaching staff.

Hayes could be an excellent teacher to rookie Branden Dawson, himself a bit undersized for a big man. Dawson’s height (6’7″) and skill-set is comparable to Hayes as they’re both considered undersized big men without much of a perimeter game offensively, but make up for it with lateral quickness, grit, and a relentless work ethic when on the floor.

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When Hayes does happen to enter the game for the Clippers, it’ll likely be for his defensive skills. Hayes has created a 10-year NBA career due to his unique defensive skills. Unlike most defensive-minded big men who protect the rim and block shots, Hayes makes his mark in defending post-ups and being a master of defending the pick-and-roll.

His skill defending the pick-and-roll was a vital part of the team’s success during the Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady era when both stars constantly battled injuries. Unlike Yao, who at his size and issues with foot injuries lacked the footspeed to defend pick-and-rolls, Hayes was the solution when teams would try to pick the Rockets to death.

The pick-and-roll is the most common play type in the NBA and possessions in the NBA have ended in a pick-and-roll play more than 20 percent of the time in recent years. While Griffin and Jordan aren’t bad at all in defending, it’s a luxury to have an end-of-the-bench guy who brings one great skill to the table in case his number is called.

In addition to his prowess when it comes to defending the pick-and-roll, Hayes is also a surprisingly good individual defender. Hayes uses his lateral quickness and uncanny anticipation of opponents’ moves to beat his man to the spot and force them into tough shots.

It’s a bit dated as the tape is nearly five years old, but check out Hayes’ defensive skills on full display on Amar’e Stoudemire during his offensive prime with the Knicks. Stoudemire, a skilled player both as the roll man in pick-and-rolls and in isolation, is forced to take tough shot after tough shot because Hayes knows exactly what Stoudemire wants to do.

Head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers has shown in his brief time with the Clippers that he values veterans. Year after year, he surrounds the core with aging players who are on the back end of their careers.

Most likely as a coach, he values the security of having players who have been in the trenches as opposed to bringing in younger players who he might not feel as comfortable playing in a tough situation. Hayes fits the mold of a player who has been through it all in the NBA and has proven to be a steady veteran who you can trust not to be overwhelmed in high pressure situations.

With Hayes, the Clippers are getting a low-risk player who can step in and provide a valuable skill for an end-of-the-bench player.

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