Rui Hachimura entered the 2025-26 season with an expiring contract and the subject of endless trade rumors. That $18.3 million salary of the Los Aneles Lakers forward was viewed as a pivotal starting point for potential trade negotiations around the league. Nothing happened.
Hachimura stood pat in Los Angeles after the Feb. 5 deadline to move him had passed. That put Rui in a touch of an awkward spot with the franchise.
The Lakers will be eyeing a retool around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in the summer. Adding any in-demand free agents will almost surely come at the expense of the money that could have been given to Hachimura instead.
However, Rui has the ultimate opportunity to prove why Rob Pelinka and company may want to reconsider. In the absence of Doncic and Reaves against the Houston Rockets, someone will need to step up and fill the role as the number two scorer behind LeBron James. If that player is Hachimura, it will set him up nicely a ton of eyeballs watching him in the postseason.
Rui Hachimura can secure his next payday by shining against the Rockets
Kirk Goldsberry asked Zach Lowe who the Lakers' second-best player was for the series against Houston in the first round. The latter leaned toward Hachimura.
There can certainly be an argument made for that player being Marcus Smart. However, Hachimura is the clearest fit regarding who can handle being tasked with a sizable scoring load beyond just James.
Rui is coming into the playoffs on a heater, too. Over his last five games, Hachimura has averaged 16.6 points per game on 60.0 percent shooting from the field and 61.1 percent from beyond the arc.
If anything close to production is on display against the Rockets, a cash car is pulling up to Rui's house in the offseason.
Granted, him sustaining that type of efficiency is improbable. The Rockets have a strong defensive unit and that should take its toll on Hachimura's offense. Even so, a steady uptick from his 11.5 points per game average on the totality of the season will not go unnoticed.
Whether it is with the Lakers or another team who may be lurking, Hachimura can take a somewhat uncertain future and set up a bidding war instead. It would allow Rui to secure his next deal in the same relative ballpark as his current salary. Perhaps the sharpshooting forward even makes his case for a raise.
Add us as a preferred source on Google