The Los Angeles Lakers have every reason to be buyers at the trade deadline this season. Yet for some reason, it still seems like the front office is going to take the cautious approach despite having the best superstar duo in the league (when healthy) and a shrinking championship window.
Even if a big trade is off the table, Los Angeles can make smaller trades that improve the rotation now while also having an eye on the future. Fans just have to hope that the team’s insistence to not make a big trade doesn’t carry over into smaller deals as well.
Especially when there are promising young trade targets on the market. Rui Hachimura is the latest promising young trade target to potentially hit the market, telling reporters that he just wants to “be somewhere that wants me”.
The Los Angeles Lakers can afford to trade for Rui Hachimura.
Because he is a restricted free agent with half a season under contract, the Lakers have the assets to bring Hachimura in via trade. As long as another team doesn’t come over the top with an offer that is way over Hachimura’s price range, this package should be more than enough:
This is not the most complex trade in the world but there is still a case to be made for both sides. If you are not very familiar with Hachimura then it is understandable to question if he is worth two second-round picks from the Lakers.
On the following pages, we will break down why the Los Angeles Lakers could say yes to this trade as well as why the Washington Wizards could say yes.
Why the Los Angeles Lakers could say yes to this Rui Hachimura trade:
Reports from earlier this season indicated that the Los Angeles Lakers weren’t just looking to make a trade that improves this year’s team but also has the long-term perspective in mind. This would be such a trade in which the Lakers can improve now while also bringing in a role player that can actually provide continuity.
Hachimura is a restricted free agent so by trading for him, the Lakers would have the right to match any offer sheet he receives to keep him in Los Angeles. Hachimura is not going to sign some kind of crazy deal and the Lakers will more than be able to keep him in town.
Based on previous deals, Hachimura would likely receive something in the ballpark of three years for $25 million. That is more than doable for the Lakers and is a fair price for a young role player who was just taken with the ninth overall pick four years ago.
Hachimura has not been fantastic from beyond the arc this season but he has shown that he can be a great floor-stretching wing in the past. Hachimura shot 44.7% from three this season and is still having outbursts this year that are intriguing to imagine in Los Angeles.
Rui Hachimura tonight:
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 22, 2023
30 Points
5 Rebounds
59% FG
3/5 3PM pic.twitter.com/SFAm3bSFXl
Getting this kind of potential for two second-round picks is a no-brainer. Not only does it instantly address the team’s lack of wing depth but it gives them a solid young role player to lock in for the next three to four years after this season.
That is better than trading a second-round pick for an aging veteran and with the team getting the New Orleans Pelicans’ first-round pick in a pick swap, they can afford to make this move.
Why the Washington Wizards could say yes:
It is very clear that Rui Hachimura probably does not have a future with the Washington Wizards. While he is a promising young role player, the team is not going to have the means to sign him to a new contract in the offseason.
Washington has already given large salaries to Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis and appears ready to do the same with Kyle Kuzma when he is a free agent this offseason. That leaves players like Hachimura out to dry and instead of letting him walk for free, getting some kind of value for him is ideal.
Cam Reddish’s trade value is that of two second-round picks. Hachimura is slightly more valuable than Reddish since he is actually playing in the Wizards’ rotation, unlike Reddish with the Knicks. However, it is hard to see the Wizards getting more than a pair of second-round picks.
This is actually a valuable return for Washington because as it stands right now, both of those second-round picks are in the top 40. For a team that needs to build out depth, having two picks in the mid-30s is probably just as valuable as having one pick in the late 20s.
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Kendrick Nunn is just a throwaway expiring contract and the Wizards could get really cheap and just buy him out as soon as the news becomes official.