After thrilling victories over the Grizzlies and the Trail Blazers, the Lakers made a big trade and landed Rui Hachimura from the Wizards.
The last time Hachmiura was on the court, he scored a career-high 30 points during a win over the Magic. It was the second time this season that he had reached as many points in a single performance.
While this isn’t going to be the move that turns Los Angeles from a pretender to a contender, it could be a sign of what could come next for the Lakers. The franchise did not move any first-round picks in the deal, so more moves may be on the way.
The Lakers are expected to re-sign Hachmiura, which will limit their cap space during the upcoming offseason. However, that may not be the worst strategy if it bolsters their weak young core and provides players who can make a difference in a potential postseason run.
The Deal
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Lakers receive: Rui Hachimura
Wizards receive: Kendrick Nunn, 2023 Chicago second-rounder, their own 2029 second-rounder, and the Wizards/Lakers less favorable second-rounder in 2028
The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Los Angeles Lakers
As noted by The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor and ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry, Hachimura has taken significant leaps forward as a catch-and-shoot threat over the past few seasons.
Last season, the former No. 9 overall pick was 47.0 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers for the Wizards. His efficiency could hover near there in the minutes he plays alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Otherwise, however, Hachimura will likely play in the second unit alongside his former teammate Russell Westbrook. Those two could actually make for a fairly effective pairing and already have established chemistry.
enjoyed this sequence…
1) Rui Hachimura turns the ball over in the post
2) Westbrook pulls him aside in huddle and coaches him up
3) His first play out of the timeout, Rui applies the teachings to similar situation and gets free throws pic.twitter.com/3aq1SgDydq— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 18, 2021
Westbrook recorded 121 assists to Hachimura, per PBPStats, which was the seventh-most prolific assist combination among any two players in the league during the 2020-21 campaign.
Hachimura’s effective field goal percentage was higher during minutes with Westbrook (54.1 percent) relative to when he did not play with Westbrook (51.2 percent) during his time in Washington.
He already has several years of professional experience, but the former Wizards forward is still younger than Pacers wing Chris Duarte or Celtics forward Sam Hauser — both only in their second professional season.
GRADE: A
Washington Wizards
Washington used a high draft pick to select Hachimura at No. 9 overall and then spent several years working on his player development.
But if an NBA franchise has no intention of retaining an asset, it’s always better to get something than nothing. The Wizards clearly did not have plans to re-sign Hachimura this offseason, so they now can at least have some future draft picks in their arsenal rather than just letting him walk without getting anything in return.
That being said, per Yahoo’s Jake Fischer, the Wizards were reportedly “holding out for first-round value” for Hachmiura. Instead, they were only able to get multiple second-rounders in return.
Nunn was impressive during his time with the Heat, but he has never materialized as a valuable player while on the court with the Lakers. He was one of the least impactful players in the league this season.
Among all NBA players, he currently ranks 12th-worst in Estimated Wins (EW), per Dunksandthrees.com. Meanwhile, he ranks 7th-worst in BBall-Index.com’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
GRADE: C-
