Grading every Lakers signing during NBA free agency

By Jason Reed | Jul 2, 2023

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 11: Taurean Prince #12 of the Minnesota Timberwolves attempts a shot betweem D'Angelo Russell #1 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half in a play-in tournament game at Crypto.com Arena on April 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) – Rui Hachimura /

Lakers re-sign Rui Hachimura: B

One of the more impactful trades from the 2023 trade deadline was the Lakers shipping multiple second-round picks and Kendrick Nunn to the Washington Wizards for Rui Hachimura. Los Angeles pulled off this trade before the deadline frenzy and it ended being more than worth it.

Not only did Hachimura play a key role in the Lakers’ playoff success as the team’s best player off the bench but the Lakers were able to recoup the second-round picks by trading Thomas Bryant to the Denver Nuggets. LA essentially flipped Bryant and Nunn for Hachimura, which was a huge win.

The Lakers are not letting Hachimura go anywhere as they signed the restricted free agent to a three-year, $51 million contract. That might seem like a huge contract but in today’s NBA with the contracts being handed out, $17 million a year is not so bad.

Sure, it might be a bit overpriced and in a perfect world, the Lakers could have signed Hachimura to a $12-15 million average annual salary. And maybe they could have if the team let the process play out as no other teams may have offered Hachimura $50 million for the Lakers to match.

But those extra few million really won’t make a tangible difference, especially considering the fact that the team was able to save so much money in other areas.

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