The Los Angeles Lakers made their first pre-trade deadline move of the season today, acquiring Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards in exchange for guard Kendrick Nunn and 3 second round draft picks.
Hachimura, 24, is averaging 13.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists across 30 games coming off the bench for the Wizards. After going off for 30 points and 5 rebounds in a win against the Magic on Saturday, Hachimura said in an interview “I want to be somewhere that wants me as a basketball player,” confirming speculation that he in fact was on the trade block.
While the Lakers currently sit outside of the playoff picture, they are only 2 games behind the Clippers for 6th place in a tight Western Conference. With LeBron James continuing to play at an elite level despite his age, and the impending return of Anthony Davis, Hachimura gives the Lakers another big bodied wing without much risk.
If Hachimura taps into the potential that made him the 9th overall selection in the 2019 draft, then the Lakers will have the opportunity to match any contract offers this summer as Hachimura becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
While Hachimura doesn’t solve the Lakers ongoing spacing and 3-point shooting problems, they were able to add a young skilled (albeit inconsistent) forward while retaining their 2027 and 2029 first round picks which are by far their two most valuable trade chips. It also adds some much needed youth to a veteran heavy lineup out west.
From the Wizards perspective, it’s hard not to be disappointed turning a high first round draft pick into a veteran guard who is in the midst of an up and down season on an expiring contract and a collection of mid to late round draft picks. A return made even less appealing given the Wizards lack of success in recent years at the draft.
Despite rumblings of Hachimura’s disappointment with not receiving a contract extension before the rookie window closed in October, Washington still could have matched any contract offers this offseason if they wanted to retain Hachimura and rebuild what had become a fractured relationship.
Trading Hachimura does give them more financial flexibility to work on an extension for Kyle Kuzma, who is in the midst of a breakout campaign. However, Kuzma has a player option for next year and could very well opt out and leave for a big payday somewhere else.
With Washington currently outside of the playoffs, trading away their assets as early as possible makes sense, as the more the losses pile up the larger their shot at landing a potential superstar in Victor Wembanyama with the number 1 selection in this year’s entry draft.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.