The Washington Wizards are off to a 5-1 start to the season. Young forward Rui Hachimura has not been a part of the fun, though, as he has been away from the team due to personal reasons since September.
Reporter Quinton Mayo provided an update on Hachimura's status. Sources told Mayo that the former Gonzaga standout is becoming somewhat of a ghost in the Washington locker room.
According to multiple sources, Hachimura hasn’t been in the practice facility at the same time as his teammates. “We haven’t seen him at all,” one source told me. “Maybe he does individual workouts at night, I’m not sure. We have no idea what’s going on with him.”
Mayo's sources offered a possible reason for Hachimura's disappearance and said that he isn't being talked about as much among the Wizards.
There has been chatter among the team that maybe Rui’s absence has something to do with the Olympics and the lack of success achieved in his home country, but still, no one is quite sure.
“What’s weird is Rui’s name is sort of taboo around here—nobody mentions him or anything,” another source added. “You probably know more than we do at this point when it comes to what’s going on with Ru.”
Hachimura has started all 105 of the games he has played in the past two seasons. He averaged 13.7 points and 5.8 rebounds on 47.3 percent shooting. While the Wizards continue to surge, they'll patiently await the return of the former ninth overall pick. Their next game is on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks.
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