Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes was in the news over the last week after an altercation with the Washington Wizards mascot went viral. He was seen shoving the mascot to the ground prior to L.A.\u2019 matchup against the Wizards on Friday, Jan. 30. <\/p>\n
Hayes served a one-game suspension for his actions<\/a>, and head coach JJ Redick said that the backup center made a mistake and wanted to use it as a learning experience<\/a>. While it, on the surface, seemed to be a silly situation altogether, the NBA has cracked down on players interacting with non-players ever since the Malice at the Palace in 2004. <\/p>\n Hayes is now back with the Lakers and his suspension was served. The big man gave an honest assessment of his actions and offered an apology to the Wizards organization and their mascot on Saturday. <\/p>\n \u201cI obviously apologize to the team, the mascot,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cWe all try to get ourselves in the mental space and physical space to play a game and when I\u2019m stretching and someone steps on my foot, I might\u2019ve lost it. I should\u2019ve handled it a different way. You live and you learn.\u201d <\/p>\n It\u2019s good to see Hayes immediately taking accountability for his actions, as it shows that he truly learned from the situation and likely won\u2019t find himself in the same one again. <\/p>\n The Lakers simply don\u2019t have the depth to lose players for silly reasons, and Hayes needs to stay available in order for the team to have somewhat competitive frontcourt depth. Pushing mascots is simply not worth the cost to the Lakers.<\/p>\n Maxi Kleber discusses staying ready for Lakers <\/p>\n In the one game that Hayes missed, Maxi Kleber stepped up and had arguably his best game as a Laker. Kleber finished with four points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 26 minutes as the Lakers came back for a 119-115 victory.<\/p>\n Kleber was a team-high plus-23 on the night and when asked how he stays ready despite his inconsistent role<\/a>, the big man said that he simply puts in the necessary work so he\u2019s always ready.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the one thing that you always can do is just support and be there for your teammates,\u201d Kleber said after the game. \u201cI think that keeps you mentally in the game and honestly you just wanna make sure that you do your work. When you do your work you\u2019re always prepared whenever you\u2019re thrown in there so that\u2019s the key component to me.\u201d<\/p>\n