The Los Angeles Lakers turned heads with a front-office maneuver on Monday, as they acquired the services of Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura for three second-round picks and Kendrick Nunn's expiring contract. The Lakers had at least one option they would have pursued before pulling the trigger on the Hachimura trade, and it's one that would have cost Los Angeles one less second-round pick, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

“The Lakers were exploring options for what Nunn and two second-rounders could have netted Los Angeles to supplement LeBron James’ stellar play this season, sources said, and that included New York Knicks swingman Cam Reddish,” as noted by Fischer.

For the Lakers, it all boiled down to which between Rui Hachimura and Cam Reddish would get them better value.

“Washington officials believed Hachimura, selected by the Wizards at No. 9 overall in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Gonzaga, commanded greater value, sources said. And over Sunday and Monday, the Lakers and Wizards began a viable dialogue that led to the final trade package,” adds Fischer.

Like Rui Hachimura, Reddish also arrived in the league via the 2019 NBA Draft. The two were even next to each other on the board, with Rui Hachimura getting ninth overall by the Wizards and Reddish selected by the Atlanta Hawks 10th overall.

Reddish is healthy but he's been buried in the Knicks bench, having not seen any action since early December.

With the Lakers ending up with Rui Hachimura, the expectation is that he will make an immediate impact on his new team which is on the outside looking in of the Play-in picture in the Western Conference.