Jaxson Hayes could wind up seeing the trade block at some point this season given that he is in the final year of his contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. Larry Nance Jr. has filled minutes behind Jonas Valanciunas as a “small-ball” center in some rotations for the Pelicans and New Orleans still has Willy Hernangomez under contract as a backup center on their roster.

The point is that the Pelicans can get away with moving Jaxson Hayes this season, that way he does not sign an offer sheet with another team in the offseason and leave New Orleans with the Pelicans getting nothing in return.

The Pelicans could use some added shooting depth on their bench and even though they may not utilize him much, Payton Pritchard is not a bad player for them to have. He could sit behind the likes of CJ McCollum and Jose Alvarado on the depth chart in order to work on his game a little more and we have seen glimpses of Pritchard’s shooting potential in Boston.

Maybe the Pelicans would need more value if they were to give up Hayes, but this is not a bad deal on Boston’s end of things whatsoever, especially since they added Malcolm Brogdon in the offseason and do not seem to have space for Payton Pritchard long-term.

A strong rebounder who has proven to be a shot-blocking presence at either the center or power forward position, Jaxson Hayes is a nice alternate option for the Celtics to add on their bench alongside Robert Williams III and Al Horford.