Rui Hachimura was one of the players with a solid stint for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
The former Washington Wizards forward was traded to LA ahead of the trade deadline and made his opportunities count by coming off the bench to be an instant impact on the side. And to him, being a Laker and donning the Purple and Gold was an amazing feeling.
Per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, “Rui Hachimura called playing for the Lakers and making the Western Conference finals “one of the best times of my life. He called playing for the Lakers “crazy — in a good way” and said this season felt like two or three seasons in one.”
Rui Hachimura called playing for the Lakers and making the Western Conference finals “one of the best times of my life.”
He called playing for the Lakers “crazy — in a good way” and said this season felt like two or three seasons in one.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) May 23, 2023
Hachimura was pivotal on both ends of the floor this season, averaging 9.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.7 assists from 3 games. His efforts, along with the younger core comprising of Austin Reaves and Max Christie, saw some lavish praise from GM Rob Pelinka.
“I would say this resoundingly clear, our intentions are to keep our core of young guys together,” Pelinka said. “We saw incredible growth and achievement by Rui (Hachimura), Austin — I could go down the list — Vando, D’Lo. We have a lot of great young players and we want to do our best to fit the puzzle together…Again, without talking specific players, we’ll do our best to keep this group intact and growing and getting better each year.”
Only time will tell if Hachimura comes back to the LA fold in the upcoming season.
Lakers Plan To Retain Austin Reaves And Rui Hachimura
According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are keen to retain both Reaves and Hachimura.
“Both restricted free agents. I don’t see any scenario where the Lakers would not match on both”, said Wojnarowski. Clearly, retaining both of these dynamic players would be the way to go for the Lakers.
These two have been pivotal for LA in the playoffs and have cemented themselves as players who the team cannot ignore in the days to come. Financial constraints aside, these two would be worth it.
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