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You have to give a lot of credit to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Wizards for keeping the Rui Hachimura trade deal under wraps. The transaction caught a lot of folks by surprise considering how there weren't too many leaks, if any, pertaining to a deal between these two sides being imminent. All of a sudden, we were all just made aware of the fact that Hachimura is now a Laker.
As it turns out, the Lakers and the Wizards took a few days to iron out the deal. According to NBA insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic, negotiations dragged on because of one significant factor in the deal:
“The Lakers and Wizards discussed the deal for several days with draft compensation being the primary haggling point, according to league sources. The Athletic reported last week that Washington was exploring potential trade destinations for Hachimura,” Buha wrote.
It's no secret that the Wizards were already shopping Rui around in the trade market and that a handful of teams had already shown interest. This put Washington in a great position to negotiate a better compensation package from the Lakers. In the end, this came out to Kendrick Nunn and no less than three future second-round picks. The Wizards probably wanted more, but the haul they settled for is quite substantial as it is.
For their part, the Lakers appear to have gotten their hands on a real stud that could make a significant impact on the squad in the immediate future. LA still has title aspirations this season, and while the arrival of Rui Hachimura won't be an all-in-one solution, it's definitely a step in the right direction.
