Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson seems to approve of the team's trade for Rui Hachimura, but he believes that the former Washington Wizards forward has a glaring weakness.
The Lakers acquired Rui Hachimura in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks on Monday. Magic Johnson tweeted that the 24-year-old “has to get more aggressive on both ends of the court.”
I like the Lakers trade for Rui Hachimura. He’s long, athletic, and smart but has to get more aggressive on both ends of the court.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 23, 2023
The Wizards selected Hachimura with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. The forward hasn’t amounted to being more than a role player in four seasons for Washington. In 30 games during the 2022-2023 season, Hachimura hasn’t made a single start.
Hachimura became expendable for the Wizards because of how well ex-Laker Kyle Kuzma has played during his one and a half seasons in Washington. Kuzma is averaging a career-high 21.8 points per game and playing solid defense. The Wizards are expected to try and re-sign Kuzma in the offseason and have told opposing teams that he’s not available in a trade, Yahoo Sports reports.
Hachimura is scoring 13.0 points per game, right at his career average. The power forward is averaging fewer points and shots per game than he did in each of his first two NBA seasons.
Los Angeles could certainly use Hachimura’s contributions on both offense and defense. The Lakers don’t rank better than 15th in offensive or defensive rating.
The Lakers made the trade while sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles trails the Golden State Warriors by a game for the final berth in the play-in tournament.
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