Rui Hachimura is entering the last season of his current deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. For a handful of those following the team, that makes his $18.3 million contract for 2025-26 more attractive as a trade piece than the known commodity Hachimura provides on the court.
This should not disillusion anyone with the fact that the Lakers forward is a good basketball player. Hachimura averaged 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from 3-point land in 2024-25.
Despite that, several roster holes will need to be patched up heading into next season in order to build a contender around Luka Doncic. Those fixes may come at the expense of Hachimura. There are several teams who should be interested in the services of the solid starting forward.
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are lacking some serious firepower despite making their sixth straight playoff appearance in the 2024-25 season. Trading away Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors certainly does not help with that problem.
The Heat ranked 21st in the NBA when it came to their offensive rating this season. Their mark of 112.4 was the second worst of an team that qualified for the postseason.
Michael Scotto reported the Heat will be making a push for the likes of Kevin Durant and Jonathan Kuminga, hoping to fix that issue. If they fall short of some of those targets, Hachimura could provide a boost, while also holding his own for the Heat's top-10 defense.
Boston Celtics
This is a tricky one. The Boston Celtics are known to desire shedding salary, projecting them as sellers for this offseason. Perhaps with Jayson Tatum missing due to injury, and a vacant forward spot in the starting lineup, the Celtics would view Hachimura's expiring deal as the right fit.
They get at least one guaranteed season of dependable production from the Lakers forward in 2025-26. They also get to drop his salary altogether next offseason, should they choose the money-saving route.
Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis should both be attractive trade targets to the Lakers for their own individual reasons. This deal would likely need at least a third team to play facilitator, but the connection is warranted.
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons were encouraged to call about Dalton Knecht for the same reasons they will now be encouraged to call about Hachimura. They need to continue surrounding Cade Cunningham with spacing and they have someone the Lakers would want.
Jalen Duren is as appealing as any center target out there for the Lakers. If the pathway to acquiring the young and athletic two-way big man involves Hachimura, it would be a price no one should be surprised to see this team pay.