The Los Angeles Lakers will be forced to renounce the cap hold for Rui Hachimura after signing Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Collin Sexton. That ends his time with the franchise after three and a half years. Hachimura transformed into an elite shooter with the purple and gold, but his defense and rebounding issues forced the Lakers to move on. They are building around Luka Doncic and wanted better fits moving forward.
LA fans were hoping Rui would return because the moves created a hole at the power forward position. The Lakers would need to package role players to take on more salary. With the franchise overpaying for Kessler, their draft capital available is depleted. Los Angeles likely has their roster for next season save for a minor move or two.
Hachimura is drawing interest from several contenders, including the San Antonio Spurs. Contending teams will want a 6’8 sharpshooter. Lakers fans haven’t forgotten he just shot 56.9 percent from 3-point range in the playoffs and has the highest 3-point percentage in NBA postseason history. Hachimura wasn’t always the cleanest fit, but he elevated his game in LA.
Rui Hachimura is done with the Lakers
The Lakers clearly focused on shooting after agreeing to the Kessler sign-and-trade. The pieces fit around Luka, and it will be on the superstar to maximize them. Mavericks supporters saw him lift Grimes in their brief stint together. Doncic should get more out of Kessler and Mamu too.
Hachimura averaged 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 27.9 minutes per game over 228 contests with the Lakers. He shot 41.5 percent from 3-point range and made giving up three second-round draft picks look like a steal. Rui helped LA reach the conference finals in 2023 and the second round this season. They don’t defeat the Rockets without Hachimura making some big shots in the absence of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
It was disappointing to see so many talented players depart this offseason. The Lakers lost LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Nick Smith Jr., Maxi Kleber, and Hachimura. LeBron decided to play elsewhere for his historic 24th NBA season. Smart and Kennard are joining West rivals. Hachimura has yet to make his decision, but fans can expect him to be impactful wherever he goes.
Credit to Rob Pelinka. He got Luka Doncic a starting-caliber center and more shooting. This could turn disastrous if Kessler doesn’t improve or the role players don’t work, but Los Angeles went for it. They gave up a lot of talent, but feel the roster fits better around Luka than ever before.
The Los Angeles Lakers will lose Rui Hachimura because they must renounce their cap holds to pull off their spending spree. The roster will look very different next season. Head coach JJ Redick has work to do in making the pieces fit. The Lakers have Luka, so they’ve got a shot. It is all about maximizing that chance. Sadly, it will be without Rui, but that is the price of revamping the roster.
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