Rui Hachimura is living life like the meme of that dog sitting amid the burning fire and telling himself everything is fine. The Japanese forward chose to ditch the Los Angeles Lakers for the crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers earlier this summer. There may already be regret from that decision.
Why "this is fine" is the meme this year deserves https://t.co/a4tXpt76eo pic.twitter.com/HlNf2wTCQ5
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 5, 2016
The NBA dropped the penalties for the Kawhi Leonard scandal on Wednesday, and they were absolutely brutal. More notable than anything else was stripping the Clippers of five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033. That has left a underwhelming group with few resources to improve. Yikes.
Hachimura went across town to the Clippers because he wanted to stay in Los Angeles. When him and the Lakers could not see eye to eye on a new deal, there was no other choice but to choose the Clips if the warm and sunny skies of LA were a non-negotiable.
Rui now finds himself saddled to that disaster of a franchise for the next two years. For a player who cited winning as a top priority after the move to the Clippers, things have to feel pretty hopeless in that regard. Mediocrity is all that is promised in the future of that organization moving forward.
Rui Hachimura choosing the Clippers over the Lakers suddenly looks awful
Perhaps the Lakers and Hachimura were so far apart on the money in free agency that returning to the franchise he had spent four years with never truly seemed like a viable option to him. Even so, the circumstances with the Clippers comes across as a hostage situation for nearly everyone involved.
Hachimura is on a two-year deal, so if he really wants to search for the exit door, that can be done soon. There is one notable downside of that contract, though. Had Rui not given the Clippers a team option in the second year of his agreement, perhaps there would be a quicker escape route for him.
His old team are doing just fine in the meantime. It may not have been a perfect summer for the Lakers, but they put together a strong roster around Luka Doncic.
Where there should be a bit of sting for both sides is the fact that one of the starting forward continues to be a question mark. The Lakers and Hachimura could have both benefitted from one another there.
Ultimately, if there is an immediate answer as to who "won" the breakup, it would certainly not be Rui at this given time. Perhaps feasting on empty stats with a mediocre team will help boost his stock to some capacity ahead of searching for a new deal in two years. However, for a player who claimed to care about winning, that aspect of playing basketball is not poised to find him at his new home.
Add us as a preferred source on Google