5 Lakers who are expendable, 2 who LA can't afford to trade

Lakers can afford to trade Rui Hachimura

Rui Hachimura is similar to Austin Reaves in that he played a big part in the Lakers' run to the Western Conference Finals last season. Hachimura had an excellent series against the Memphis Grizzlies in round one and proved that he can take over the game with his scoring.

All Lakers fans heard about during the summer was that Hachimura was working out with LeBron James and that James took him under his wing. As a result, the expectations definitely rose for Hachimura, who was already playing better in LA than he was in Washington.

Hachimura's 2023-24 season has not gone exactly as planned as he has missed some time with several injuries. When he has played, Hachimura has shown flashes of being a truly great rotational player. The problem is that they come in waves, and he is not the most consistent.

While Hachimura is important to this version of the Lakers, he is not irreplaceable. The team should not be outright shopping him to the highest bidder but it also cannot make him untouchable. There is a price where Hachimura can be moved, which would likely be as part of a bigger trade.

That trade, though, is not for LaVine. If the Lakers packaged Hachimura and other assets for LaVine it would be a massive mistake similar to the Russell Westbrook trade.