Ranking the Los Angeles Lakers' top 6 trade assets for 2024-25

5. Rui Hachimura

In the LeBron and AD era, not every trade has worked out particularly well. In fact, the Lakers lost many of their championship-winning role players in 2021 when the team traded for Russell Westbrook, which of course turned out to be a massive mistake. Flipping depth or future assets for win-now pieces has not been a flawless strategy for LA as of late.

But one trade General Manager Rob Pelinka absolutely nailed was the January 2023 deal for Rui Hachimura. Sending over Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks to the Washington Wizards, the Lakers were able to acquire the talented Hachimura just ahead of the trade deadline.

So far, he has fit like a glove in Los Angeles. Rui has been an irreplaceable mainstay in the wing rotation, providing solid production as a three-and-D wing. As a player who is tailormade for the playoffs, Hachimura was excellent for the Lakers in their 2023 run to the Western Conference Finals. After shooting over 48% from three in those playoffs, there was plenty of reason to be excited about him going forward.

Rui was still very good for LA this past season as well, but his production in the playoffs fell off a bit more than expected this time around. Granted, the Nuggets have plenty of solid wing defenders that we can credit with limiting him. But if not for his 7.8 points per game average in the first round of the playoffs this season, it is safe to say Hachimura would be higher on this list.