Hayes

Of course Luka Doncic made the one that didn’t count.

On a frigid shooting night when the star guard made just one three-pointer on 11 attempts, Doncic swished a 40-footer on a dead ball that elicited a roar from the Crypto.com Arena.

He instead made his impact in other ways.

Doncic overcame his bad shooting to still collect his first triple-double of the season, notching 29 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds in the Lakers’ 130-120 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Fellow guard Austin Reaves was also struggling with his shot, making just four of 14 three-point attempts, but rallied for 26 points and 11 assists to just three turnovers.

Although their stars slogged through concurrent off nights, the Lakers (5-2) still shot 50.5% from the field. They tallied 33 assists to 11 turnovers. They won their third consecutive game.

“We did a lot of really good things and it could have been even better if me and Luka would’ve made a shot,” Reaves deadpanned. “But supporting cast and everybody around that played really well.”

Forward Jake LaRavia, who turns 24 on Tuesday, scored in double digits for the third consecutive game off the bench, finishing with 25 points — two shy of his season high — and eight rebounds. He’s averaged 21.7 points per game in the last three games.

Doncic, who missed three games with minor finger and leg injuries, scored 40 points in each of his first three games this season. Only Wilt Chamberlain had ever started a season with three consecutive 40-point games. But Doncic was happy to sacrifice the scoring streak Sunday.

“We get a win,” Doncic said, “[it] doesn’t matter how many I scored.”

Doncic and Reaves struggled in the first quarter, shooting a combined two for seven from the field. Yet the Lakers still led by seven as the star duo combined for eight assists.

Center Jaxson Hayes was one of the main beneficiaries in that span, scoring 11 points on five-of-five shooting. He had a ferocious one-handed dunk off a Doncic assist that got Hayes so amped up that he head-butted the basket stanchion in celebration. He sank his first three-pointer since March 27, 2023, stepping confidently into a shot that put the Lakers up 23-13 and forced the Heat to call an early timeout.

Hayes finished with 15 points and five rebounds in his first start of the year as Deandre Ayton was held out because of back spasms. Ayton’s back flared up during the Lakers’ win in Memphis on Friday, causing him to sit out the entire second half. He was available to return in the fourth quarter, coach JJ Redick said after the game, but with the Lakers feeding off Hayes and Jarred Vanderbilt at center, the team didn’t want to risk further injury.

The Heat (3-3) finished the third quarter on a 20-7 run to pull within four points heading into the fourth quarter. Former UCLA star Jaime Jaquez Jr., playing in front of his hometown crowd, cut the lead to two with an emphatic one-handed put-back dunk 58 seconds in the fourth quarter. A hush fell over the Lakers crowd.

But Reaves helped quell the comeback effort.

He stumbled while trying to dribble behind his legs, but recovered to shoot a fadeaway mid-range jumper with 1.6 seconds left in the shot clock that put the Lakers up by six with 5:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. Less than 20 seconds later, Reaves threw a lob from just inside mid-court to a soaring LaRavia, who brought the crowd to its feet with a two-handed dunk.

Lakers center Jaxson Hayes avoided major injury on his right wrist after a hard fall in Friday’s preseason finale as X-rays taken after the game came back negative and an MRI scan revealed what Hayes on Sunday called “a light sprain.”

The 7-footer missed the second half of Friday’s exhibition game with a right wrist contusion after he caught a lob from Luka Doncic and was bumped in the air while jamming a two-handed dunk in the first quarter. He stayed in the game for the second quarter and expects to be ready for Tuesday’s regular-season opener against the Golden State Warriors.

“Being a dummy,” Hayes said after practice Sunday of how he got hurt on the play. “I shouldn’t have tried to catch myself, should’ve just fallen.”

Hayes scored six points in the preseason loss to the Sacramento Kings, all on soaring dunks. He and Doncic connected on Hayes’ first basket of the game as they were playing together in the preseason for the first time.

Doncic’s wizardry in the pick-and-roll makes him an athletic rim-running center’s dream as the crafty point guard drops passes from every imaginable angle. But in Doncic’s first training camp with the Lakers since last year’s midseason trade, players, including new center Deandre Ayton are still adjusting to Doncic’s passes.

While coach JJ Redick said he was happy with the Lakers’ 28 assists to 10 turnovers in the preseason game against the Kings, he estimated the team missed seven assist opportunities because of misfired lobs or overly complicated passes.

“For all bigs and point guards, when you start playing with a new big or a new point guard, it’s a learning period,” Hayes said. “You just learn how they like their screens. You learn how they like you to roll to the hoop. It’s just little things. You learn where they like to pass you the ball. … It’s just those guys [Doncic and Ayton] are figuring each other out, just like me and Luka did last year.”

The chemistry between Hayes and Doncic has gotten so strong that Hayes is being recruited to join the Slovenian national team and said he is working on getting a Slovenian passport. He and Doncic are both clients of agent Bill Duffy, and Doncic and his family have been involved in the process for about a year and half, Hayes said.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic looks up the floor while dribbling during a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 14.

(Kelsey Grant / Getty Images)

Hayes watched Slovenia’s run to the quarterfinals in EuroBasket with a careful eye knowing that joining the team could be a possibility for him in the future. FIBA allows each national team to have one naturalized player, which the international basketball governing body defines as a player who obtains their passport for that country after turning 16.

Hayes said he had hopes of representing the United States, but USA Basketball does not have open tryouts for senior national teams.

“I wanted to just play on that stage,” Hayes said. “So I’m going do whatever it takes to play on that stage.”

Etc.

The Lakers cut down their roster to 14 standard contract players on Saturday, waiving RJ Davis, Augustas Marciulionis, Anton Watson and Nate Williams after training camp officially ended. The team kept center Christian Koloko and guards Chris Manon and Nick Smith Jr. on two-way contracts. … Manon was nursing an ankle injury during training camp but was a full participant in practice on Sunday. Bronny James (ankle) and rookie Adou Thiero (knee) went through a modified workout.

HONOLULU — Lawyers for a Hawaii real estate investor and broker who sued Shohei Ohtani and his agent denied any improper use of the Dodgers star’s likeness for a development project and alleged the agent was trying to deflect blame for cost overruns at the player’s home.

Ohtani and Nez Balelo of CAA Baseball were sued Aug. 8 in Hawaii Circuit Court for the First Circuit by developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr., real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto, West Point Investment Corp. and Hapuna Estates Property Owners. They accused Ohtani and Balelo of “abuse of power” that allegedly resulted in tortious interference and unjust enrichment impacting a $240 million luxury housing development on the Big Island’s coveted Hapuna Coast.

Hayes and Matsumoto had been dropped from the development deal by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the joint venture’s majority owner.

The amended complaint filed Tuesday added Creative Artists Agency and CAA Sports as defendants.

“Balelo and CAA sought to deflect blame by scapegoating Hayes for the cost overruns on Otani’s home — overruns caused entirely by defendants’ own decisions,” the complaint said.

“The allegations as we clarified them make very clear that there was never a breach of the endorsement agreement, the video that was posted on the website promoting specifically this project was sent to Balelo and CAA and another adviser to Ohtani, Mark Daulton, and they were aware of it and never objected to it,” said Josh Schiller, a lawyer for Hayes and the suing entities.

In a motion to dismiss filed Sept. 14, attorneys for Ohtani and Balelo said “plaintiffs exploited Ohtani’s name and photograph to drum up traffic to a website that marketed plaintiffs’ own side project development.”

“This is a desperate attempt to avoid dismissal of a frivolous complaint and, as we previously said, to distract from plaintiffs’ myriad of failures and their blatant misappropriation of Shohei Ohtani’s rights,” Laura Smolowe, a lawyer for Ohtani and Balelo, said in a statement. “Nez Balelo has always prioritized Mr. Ohtani’s best interests, including protecting his name, image, and likeness from unauthorized use.”

Lawyers for Hayes and the plaintiffs claimed they kept Balelo and CAA informed.

“Before the website went live, Hayes submitted a link to the entire site — including its promotional aspects — by email to Balelo and Terry Prince, the director of legal and business Affairs at CAA Sports LLC,” the amended complaint said. “It remained online with no material changes for 14 months before Balelo suddenly objected and threatened litigation — weaponizing the issue in order to create pretext for yet another set of demands and concessions.”

“The sudden demand that Kingsbarn terminate plaintiffs was instead a retaliatory measure against Hayes for resisting the constant and improper demands of Balelo and (Ohtani),” the complaint added. “Defendants further calculated that, with plaintiffs removed, they could more easily extract financial concessions from the project and enrich themselves at plaintiffs’ expense.”

HONOLULU — Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed last month accusing them of causing a Hawaii real estate investor and broker to be fired from a $240-million luxury housing development on the Big Island’s Hapuna Coast.

Ohtani and Balelo were sued Aug. 8 in Hawaii Circuit Court for the First Circuit by developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto, West Point Investment Corp. and Hapuna Estates Property Owners, who accused them of “abuse of power” that allegedly resulted in tortious interference and unjust enrichment.

Hayes and Matsumoto had been dropped from the development deal by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the joint venture’s majority owner.

In papers filed Sunday, lawyers for Ohtani and Balelo said Hayes and Matsumoto in 2023 acquired rights for a joint venture in which they owned a minority percentage to use Ohtani’s name, image and likeness under an endorsement agreement to market the venture’s real estate development at the Mauna Kea Resort. The lawyers said Ohtani was a “victim of NIL violations.”

“Unbeknownst to Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo, plaintiffs exploited Ohtani’s name and photograph to drum up traffic to a website that marketed plaintiffs’ own side project development,” the lawyers wrote. “They engaged in this self-dealing without authorization, and without paying Ohtani for that use, in a selfish and wrongful effort to take advantage of their proximity to the most famous baseball player in the world.”

The lawyers claimed Hayes and Matsumoto sued after “Balelo did his job and protected his client by expressing justifiable concern about this misuse and threatening to take legal action against this clear misappropriation.” They called Balelo’s actions “clearly protected speech “

In a statement issued after the suit was filed last month, Kingsbarn called the allegations “completely frivolous and without merit.”

Ohtani is a three-time MVP on the defending World Series champion Dodgers.

“Nez Balelo has always prioritized Shohei Ohtani’s best interests, including protecting his name, image, and likeness from unauthorized use,” a lawyer for Ohtani and Balelo, said in a statement. “This frivolous lawsuit is a desperate attempt by plaintiffs to distract from their myriad of failures and blatant misappropriation of Mr. Ohtani’s rights.”

Lawyers for Hayes and Matsumoto did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yusei Kikuchi threw seven strong innings, Luis Rengifo hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth and the Angels beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Bryce Teodosio doubled off reliever Graham Ashcraft (7-5) to open the eighth and took third on a wild pitch. Oswald Peraza grounded out, with Teodosio holding, and Rengifo fisted an RBI single over third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes’ head for the lead.

Reid Detmers (4-3) struck out two in a scoreless eighth for the victory. With Angels closer Kenley Jansen unavailable because of a left rib-cage injury, Luis Garcia retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save.

Both starters excelled in no-decisions, Reds right-hander Nick Martinez giving up one run and two hits in six innings, and the left-handed Kikuchi giving up one run and seven hits in seven innings, escaping a first-and-third, no-out jam in the second and a two-on, no-out jam in the sixth.

The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the third when Hayes doubled and scored on Noelvi Marte’s two-out RBI single. The Angels countered in the fourth on Yoán Moncada’s homer to left-center, his ninth of the season.

Angels shortstop Zach Neto was pulled to start the sixth because of left-wrist soreness after getting hit by a Martinez changeup in the third.

Key moment

A lack of communication between Teodosio, the Angels center fielder, and right fielder Jo Adell allowed Marte’s lazy fly ball to drop in the gap in the sixth, putting two on with no outs. But Kikuchi got Elly De La Cruz to fly to left and Miguel Andujar and Austin Hays to ground out to preserve a 1-1 tie.

Key stat

Kikuchi finished the sixth inning once in his previous nine starts and averaged 101 pitches through an average of five innings in his previous four starts. But he was much more efficient Wednesday, needing 88 pitches to complete seven innings.

Up next

The Angels are off Thursday. Left-hander Tyler Anderson is slated to start Friday at home against the Chicago Cubs.

Shohei Ohtani’s name is in headlines again.

And, for the second time in two years, not for baseball reasons.

News emerged this week that Ohtani, the Dodgers’ two-way star and reigning National League MVP, was being sued along with his agent in Hawaii by a real estate investor and broker.

The claim: That Ohtani and his representative, Nez Balelo of Creative Artists Agency, had the plaintiffs fired from a $240 million luxury housing development that Ohtani had been contracted to help endorse.

The contours of the case are complicated; relating to contract law, tortious interference and two years of alleged disputes between Balelo and the plaintiffs, developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto, leading up to their termination from the project.

But as it pertains to Ohtani and this current Dodgers season, only one question really matters:

Will the situation create any distraction for him off the field?

When pressed on that Wednesday, he quickly shut the idea down.

“I’m focused on what the team is doing,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “And doing everything in my power to make sure we bring a W on the field.”

According to the lawsuit, Hayes and Matsumoto reached an endorsement deal with Ohtani in 2023 for their luxury housing development on Hawaii’s Big Island. The Japanese star was not only to be a spokesperson for the project, but also a resident committed to purchasing one of the development’s 14 residences as an offseason home.

However, the lawsuit claimed, Balelo increasingly demanded unspecified concessions (the details of which were redacted in the filing) over the last two years from Hayes and Matsumoto — becoming what it described as a “disruptive force” who “inserted himself into every aspect of the relationship.”

Last month, the lawsuit alleged, Balelo went to Hayes’ and Matsumoto’s business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, and threatened litigation if the two weren’t terminated from the project.

“Kingsbarn openly admitted … that Balelo had demanded the terminations and that they were being done solely to placate him,” the lawsuit said. “Specifically, Kingsbarn acknowledged that Balelo had threatened to drag Kingsbarn into a separate lawsuit unless it terminated Hayes and Matsumoto.”

The lawsuit also claims that Balelo’s supposed threat of litigation — which pertained to the use of Ohtani’s name, image and likeness rights being used to promote a seperate real estate project on Hawaii’s Big Island — was “baseless,” amounting to an “abuse of power” by Ohtani’s longtime agent to “force a business partner to betray its contractual obligations and strip Plaintiffs of the very project they conceived and built.”

A Kingsbarn spokesperson told The Athletic this week that the allegations “are completely frivolous and without merit,” and that “Kingsbarn takes full responsibility for its actions regarding Kevin Hayes and for removing Tomoko Matsumoto as the project’s broker.”

Ohtani’s direct involvement in the dispute appears limited.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, the plaintiffs dealt almost exclusively with Balelo, who has represented Ohtani since he came to the major leagues from Japan before the 2018 season.

Still, because Balelo was acting on behalf of Ohtani, the superstar was included as a defendant as well.

That means — just like in March 2024, when scandal swirled around Ohtani after his former interpreter was found to have stolen money from his bank accounts to pay off illegal gambling debts — Ohtani has another potential disturbance to navigate off the field.

Granted, Ohtani hardly seemed affected by last year’s controversy, helping the Dodgers win the World Series while winning the third MVP award of his career. And this current lawsuit, according to attorney and legal expert Arash Sadat of Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, presents a much more standard type of legal dispute often seen around real estate deals.

“This kind of stuff happens all the time,” Sadat said. “They’re not rare at all.”

Sadat noted that, based on the lawsuit, it’s not clear “what Shohei knew and didn’t know” when it came to Balelo’s alleged interactions with the plaintiffs.

“All of the allegations in the complaint relate to conduct by his agent,” Sadat said. “If the plaintiffs in this case could show any direct involvement by Ohtani, you can bet that would have been included in the complaint.”

If the case were to proceed without a resolution, it is possible Ohtani could eventually be required to give a deposition detailing his knowledge of the alleged events.

That, however, is not something that would happen imminently. And even if it did, Sadat added, it’s unclear whether his testimony would even be released publicly, given that large swaths of redactions in the original lawsuit of seemingly proprietary business information.

Sadat speculated the chances of the case ever going to trial as slim. The overwhelming majority of such lawsuits are typically settled or dismissed well before then.

“Real estate tends to bring out emotions in people,” Sadat said. “You have a high-profile real estate developer. You have a high-profile real estate agent. You have a sports agent over at CAA. You’re talking about big egos here. And when that happens, and someone feels slighted, oftentimes… litigation is the result.”

A Hawaii real estate investor and broker are suing Shohei Ohtani, claiming the Dodgers’ star and his agent got them fired from a $240-million luxury housing development on the Big Island’s coveted Hapuna Coast that they brought him in to endorse.

According to the lawsuit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court on Friday, Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, increasingly demanded concessions from developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto before demanding that their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, drop them from the deal.

“Balelo and [Ohtani], who were brought into the venture solely for [Ohtani’]s promotional and branding value, exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle Plaintiffs’ role in the project — for no reason other than their own financial self-interest,” the lawsuit claims.

The suit accuses Ohtani and Balelo of tortious interference and unjust enrichment. Hayes, a developer with 40 years of experience, and Matsumoto, who was to be the listing agent for the houses averaging $17.3 million each, say that Ohtani and Balelo also tried to undermine their interests in a second, neighboring venture.

A spokesman for Balelo’s agency, CAA Baseball, declined comment. Attempts to reach Kingsbarn officials for comment were not immediately successful.

“This case is about abuse of power,” the lawsuit says. “Defendants used threats and baseless legal claims to force a business partner to betray its contractual obligations and strip Plaintiffs of the very project they conceived and built.

“Defendants must be held accountable for their actions, not shielded by fame or behind-the-scenes agents acting with impunity. Plaintiffs bring this suit to expose Defendants’ misconduct and to ensure that the rules of contract, fair dealing, and accountability apply equally to all — celebrity or not.”

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, left, speaks with his agent, Nez Balelo, while attending a game between the Rams and New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium in December 2023.

(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)

Ohtani, 31, arrived from Japan in 2018 as perhaps the most heralded international star in baseball history, with an ability to both pitch and hit that made him doubly valuable to his team. A five-time All-Star and three-time most valuable player, he signed a record 10-year, $700-million contract with the Dodgers before last season and helped the team win the 2024 World Series.

Investment materials for The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort, which remained online on Monday night, listed Hayes and Matsumoto as part of the management team, along with Kingsbarn. It called Ohtani “Japan’s Babe Ruth” and the “1st Resident,” giving him top billing ahead of the iconic Mauna Kea Resort, “one of the most celebrated hotels in Hawaii,” Hapuna Beach, “rated the #1 beach in America by Conde Nast Traveler” and two golf courses — one designed by Arnold Palmer, the other by Robert Trent Jones Sr.

“Ohtani will act as the celebrity spokesperson for the project and has committed to purchasing one of the 14 residences within the project,” the brochure says. “He also intends to spend significant time at The Vista in the off-season and will construct a small hitting and pitching facility for preseason training.”

The suit says the developers spent 11 years working on the deal and “as part of a bold marketing strategy” signed an endorsement deal in 2023 with Ohtani, “one of the most high-profile endorsements imaginable.”

“This partnership with Ohtani will elevate the demand and create buzz within the Japanese luxury vacation home market, which is a primary target audience for the project,” the investment brochure said. “We see Shohei Ohtani’s homeownership as having a significant impact on the global exposure of the project and expect to accelerate the pace of sales, thereby helping us achieve our pricing objectives.”

The suit said Balelo “quickly became a disruptive force,” threatening to pull Ohtani from the deal if concessions weren’t made.

“Kingsbarn began capitulating to Balelo’s every whim,” the suit said. “Over time, it became increasingly obvious that Kingsbarn was more concerned about preserving its relationship with [Ohtani] than honoring its obligations to its business partners.”

Last month, in what the suit called “a coordinated ambush,” Kingsbarn fired Hayes and Matsumoto.

“Kingsbarn openly admitted during the call that Balelo had demanded the terminations and that they were being done solely to placate him,” the suit said. “Plaintiffs stand to lose millions of dollars in compensation tied to projected homebuilding profit, construction management fees, and broker commissions.”

Golen writes for the Associated Press.

The Lakers and free-agent center Jaxson Hayes have agreed up on a one-year contract for him to return to the team, according to people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

With Hayes, the Lakers now have a backup center after they agreed to a two-year deal with Deandre Ayton.

Hayes became the Lakers’ starting center when Anthony Davis was part of a trade that sent him to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic.

Despite shooting a career-high 72.2% from the field as a lob threat for the Lakers during the regular season, he struggled in the playoffs. He started the first four games against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first-round series but was so ineffective that he didn’t play more than 10 minutes in any game as the Lakers lost 4-1. He did not play at all in Game 5.

In 56 games during the regular season, Hayes averaged 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Naomi Girma was called up to the women’s national soccer team Tuesday for the first time this year, joining 23 others for friendlies with China and Jamaica.

Girma, who was named to FIFA’s global Best XI last year, has been sidelined with calf injuries but recently returned to fitness, going 90 minutes in two of Chelsea’s last three games in the Women’s Super League. Her last appearance for the U.S. came in the gold medal final of the Paris Olympics in August.

Sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, who started their second senior national team match together last month, were also called up but this time with Gisele, a defender, making the roster as a winger. Alyssa has four goals and two assists this season for Angel City, for whom her sister also plays.

“Everyone always earns their call-ups but there are some much-deserved call-ups in this camp for players who have shown consistency in league play,” USWNT coach Emma Hayes said in a statement. “We have two different types of opponents ahead of us so we’ll have to be creative in breaking down those teams in different ways.”

In addition to Girma, seven other players from the Olympic championship team were called up. But Hayes also summoned three uncapped players in Orlando Pride defender Kerry Abello, Kansas City Current midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta and Seattle Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. Canyon Country teenager Olivia Moultrie, who hasn’t played for the U.S. since Hayes took over last May, is also on the roster.

“This camp and the following camp are going to be two amazing opportunities to develop squad depth,” Hayes said.

Still missing from the team are forwards Sophia Wilson (née Smith), Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson. Smith and Swanson are on maternity leave while Rodman is injured. The trio combined for 10 of the 12 U.S. goals in last summer’s Olympics.

The U.S. will play China at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn., on May 31 and Jamaica on June 3 at Energizer Park in St. Louis. Here’s the roster:

Goalkeepers: Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United).

Defenders: Kerry Abello (Orlando Pride), Crystal Dunn (Paris Saint-Germain), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC).

Midfielders: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Lo’eau LaBonta (Kansas City Current), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC), Lily Yohannes (Ajax).

Forwards: Lynn Biyendolo (Seattle Reign FC), Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC).