Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura has become one of the more well-liked players on the roster. The coaches have praised him for following through on what they've asked him to change and fans have applauded his efficient shooting and effort on defense.
With unrestricted free agency nearing and a questionable fit in his new role, however, a difficult question must be asked: Should Hachimura be re-signed at his current salary of $18,259,259?
It must be noted before anything else is said that all conversations about a player's salary are relative to the fact that the NBA has a salary cap. As such, this isn't a question of a player's general worth, but instead how their impact measures against the their potential cap hit.
With this in mind, any conversations about Hachimura's average annual salary are exclusively based on how his ability to influence winning compares to the restrictions re-signing him would place on other potential moves.
Los Angeles is in an advantageous position considering it's on pace to have a mountain of cap space. With it, the Lakers could either sign multiple impact players in free agency, take back large salaries via trades, or find a common ground between those two approaches.
Los Angeles also has the benefit of having Hachimura's Bird rights, but recent performances make it fair to question if re-signing him at a rate of nearly $20 million per season makes sense.
Is Rui Hachimura worth re-signing at current Lakers salary?
After spending the 2024-25 season and a large share of the 2025-26 campaign as a starter, Hachimura has come off of the bench in 18 of his past 22 appearances. During that time, he's averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 three-point field goals made in 25.0 minutes per game.
Hachimura has failed to score in double figures in 10 of those 22 outings, including five of his past seven games played.
Scoring is by no means the only quality Hachimura offers, but his lack of volume at least causes one to question a potential $20 million figure. Los Angeles' second unit needs offense and he's been positioned to take on a featured role in providing it.
If Hachimura can't at least shoot with efficient volume, then it will be difficult to justify paying big money to a player whose all-around quality is his biggest strength, yet is struggling in a key area.
LeBron James' future will likely determine if Rui Hachimura is re-signed
The true question facing Hachimura and the Lakers is how LeBron James will handle the next stage of his career. If he re-signs, then he'll likely continue to start. In that scenario, Hachimura and Los Angeles will be at something of an impasse.
If James doesn't return to the Lakers in 2026-27 and Rob Pelinka instead signs a true wing stopper, however, then Hachimura could be more easily re-signed as an ideal player to start alongside a true on-ball specialist.
The current Lakers roster struggles to find his fit in that regard, as the Luka Doncic, James, and Austin Reaves trio is woeful on defense. What Hachimura could offer alongside a potentially elite defender along the wings, however, is switchable defensive value that's more consistently reflected when he isn't miscast as a wing stopper himself.
The question is: Is there enough money to justify paying a new wing stopper, re-signing Hachimura, and addressing other positions of need when Jake LaRavia offers similar value at just $6 million per season?