The Los Angeles Lakers head into the last month-plus of the season looking to get hot and make a run in the NBA Playoffs. Currently situation in the Play-In Tournament, the Lakers are hoping to elevate into one of the top six seeds in the Western Conference to remove the chance of losing before the playoffs begin.
That is a lot to play for as the Lakers are lying in the bed that they made themselves. On an individual level, some players on the roster are playing for even more to close out the season. For a select few, the end of the 2023-24 season will also have a huge impact on the rest of their NBA careers.
If these players struggle down the stretch and don't give the Lakers (or other teams) something to like either in the regular season or the playoffs then they might not be on a roster next season.
Max Christie is playing for his NBA future
There were high expectations for Max Christie heading into the 2023-24 season. Christie put together a strong Summer League and preseason and it looked like he was going to be a staple of the bench rotation for LA.
Darvin Ham opted to play Cam Reddish instead and Christie has gotten very little consistent playing time this season. Christie has gotten his chances when there are injuries or blowouts, but he is definitely not a part of Ham's rotation.
As much promise as Christie had entering the year, it is going to be hard for him to find an NBA job next season if he does not prove anything this year. If the Lakers do not sign him, why would any other team pay money to bring in a second-round pick who hasn't proven anything in the NBA?
Maybe Christie is doing enough behind the scenes for the Lakers to re-sign him this offseason. If not, he may not find another team.
Christian Wood is playing for his NBA future
Christian Wood is currently injured so he does not have the opportunity to play for his future at this given time. But once he returns, the stakes are going to be high not just for the Lakers this season but for Wood and his career.
Wood does have something that Christie does not have in a player option for next season. No matter what, Wood can get paid next season by the Lakers if he opts into his deal. Even if the Lakers end up eating the cost and cutting him (or trading him), Wood will get paid.
But even if he is on the roster next season there is a world in which he never really plays. The same concerns about Wood's game from before he signed have resurfaced during the year as Wood is proving that he is exactly who we all thought he was.
Wood did not sign a deal with the Lakers until very late in the offseason and only could muster a minimum deal. That shows that there is not much interest in Wood around the league, so if the Lakers have no spot for him then there might not be a spot for him in the NBA.
Prominent players, especially big men, can get phased out of the NBA extremely quickly. Wood may have been a very promising offensive big three years ago but his stock has since plummeted. Now he has to do whatever he can to recoup that stock.
Jaxson Hayes is playing for his NBA career
Jaxson Hayes is essentially a hybrid of both Wood and Christie when it comes to his situation. Like Wood, Hayes is a big man who has a player option for next season so he knows at the very least that he will get paid by someone next year. But like Christie, he is a young player who hasn't proven much in his NBA career and you only get so many chances.
Hayes naturally has the advantage of being a recent lottery pick and because of draft priors, he will naturally get more chances than someone like Christie. Just look at Mo Bamba, who has had two different teams buy in on him over the last 12 months.
That being said, there are a lot of talented bigs in the league and there are a lot of interchangeable parts. To secure that he can actually have a long-lasting career, Hayes has to prove that he offers more than the generic rim protection with no real offense that he currently offers.
Hayes has the chance to prove that down the stretch with Wood currently out as the Lakers simply have to play him. When entirely healthy, Hayes does not have much of a role in the rotation and that is revealing about how the team feels about him.
If the Lakers are not thrilled with Hayes and don't feel inclined to give him much playing time then other teams in the league likely won't be, either. Hayes has the fallback plan of a player option but that does not mean he has a fruitful NBA career ahead of him.