The Los Angeles Lakers certainly exceeded expectations during their 2023 NBA Playoffs run, but everything came to a screeching halt in the Western Conference Finals when they were swept by the Denver Nuggets. Now, the Lakers have some big questions to answer this offseason, with one of them being the future of Rui Hachimura.
Hachimura was picked up at the trade deadline by the Lakers, and he ended up being a fantastic fit in their rotation throughout the remainder of the season. Hachimura's per game averages with LA in the regular season weren't great, but he took his game to another level in the playoffs (12.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.6 APG, 55.7 FG%, 48.7 3P%) proving himself to be the bench scorer the Lakers desperately needed.
Los Angeles now has to figure out what they are going to do with Hachimura, who likely boosted his stock a bit thanks to his strong postseason play. However, it's clear that the Lakers benefited greatly from his presence down the stretch of the season, so let's look at three reasons why re-signing him over the offseason makes a lot of sense.
3. Rui Hachimura is a good fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis
Ever since winning the 2020 NBA Finals, the Lakers have struggled to find players that are solid fits alongside their two stars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It's tough to play alongside players of that stature, but for all the struggles Hachimura had during his time with the Washington Wizards, he looked surprisingly comfortable working in tandem with James and Davis.
With James operating more as a passer for Los Angeles, Hachimura had no shortage of shooting opportunities throughout the playoffs, and he capitalized on quite a few of them. Hachimura is also big enough to act as a screener for pick-and-pop sets, which opened looks for Davis on the interior when defenses contested him at the perimeter, making him an easy player for both guys to play off of.
Given James' recent retirement comments, whether true or not, the Lakers can't really afford to further upset him by losing one of the players that actually fit their scheme down the stretch of the season. Not many players with Los Angeles have truly panned out alongside James and Davis, but Hachimura did, which is a very good reason to bring him back this offseason.
2. Rui Hachimura can likely be re-signed on a reasonable contract
Hachimura spent the first four seasons of his career playing on his rookie contract, so this is his first chance to get a nice little payday. However, the negotiations are set up for the Lakers to win, as Hachimura is a restricted free agent, which means they will be able to match any offer that another team may send his way.
Given his status as a restricted free agent, it's tough to truly project how big of a deal Hachimura will get, but chances are his strong postseason just earned him a few more millions on his upcoming deal. Whether or not his play was good enough to compel opposing teams to try to outbid the Lakers for him, though, remains to be seen.
Hachimura's qualifying offer will come in at $7.7 million, but he will almost certainly turn that down in search of a higher paying long-term deal. Hachimura will likely get somewhere between $10-12 million per year, which is pretty reasonable given what we saw from him in the playoffs. In that sense, it's not as if the Lakers should be anticipating a ton of competition for his services.
1. Rui Hachimura was outstanding for the Lakers in the postseason
In the end, how players perform on the court is often the biggest indicator for whether or not they will stick around. It took Hachimura awhile to find his role with the Lakers, but once he did, he was superb for them in the postseason. Hachimura had four games when he scored over 20 points, and typically when he did so, he did so with great efficiency.
The Lakers didn't have a ton of their trade deadline pieces pan out for them in the postseason, with guys like D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley all struggling to find their way at times in the playoffs. Hachimura's role was bigger in some games, but whenever he found his way on the court, it felt like he was making an impact.
For a team that doesn't have many remaining avenues to acquire high-end talent, Hachimura feels like a player they have to keep around this offseason. Early indications suggest the front office is determined to accomplish that, but there's no guarantee that it will happen. However, it's clear that Hachimura is a player the Lakers must keep around, and re-signing him should be one of the team's first offseason goals.
Follow Us
Subscribe