Rui Hachimura didn’t end up getting traded at the 2025 deadline, but that just means his future will be delayed until the offseason. Hachimura is an unrestricted free agent this summer, as the Lakers didn’t extend him or trade him before it got to this point. He’s a big part of their rotation, but now, they risk losing him for nothing this summer.
Perhaps everything will work out. Maybe the Lakers will simply look to re-sign Hachimura, and their decision not to extend (or trade) him will be a moot point. However, for the time being, while Hachimura is free to play without the worry of a potential trade hanging over him, the Lakers have a looming problem.
And it will all come to a head this summer.
Lakers face brutal Rui Hachimura reality this summer
Having cap space will be a good thing for the Lakers. They will be able to be one of the few teams around the league capable of actually giving out some money in free agency this summer.
As teams around the NBA traded for big-time contracts at the deadline, the Lakers stood pat (outside of the Luke Kennard deal), and because of that, they’ll be legitimate free-agency buyers.
But at the same time, there’s a reason teams weren’t too worried about keeping cpa space open this summer—there aren’t many available players that seem enticing.
And if all of the winning pieces end up re-signing with their previous, it could put the Lakers in a bit of a predicament.
Hachimura could sign elsewhere. He may value a larger role, a change of scenery, or a team willing to hand him a deal in the early goings of free agency (assuming the Lakers take their time and scour the market with their cap space).
Had the Lakers handed Hachimura an extension at some point in time, they wouldn’t have to worry about this. But they didn’t. They wanted to bank on free agency this summer.
Simultaneously, had the Lakers found a big-swing trade that included Hachimura, it would have also been a pathway to improving in the future and not having to worry about re-signing Hachimura.
Again, there’s a good chance things work out. LA could sign someone better on the open market or simply re-sign Hachimura. But unrestricted free agency is the great unknown.
Now, the fate isn’t completely in the Lakers’ hands. Anything could happen this summer. And that’s a scary reality to have to deal with.