The Los Angeles Lakers have finally spurned the 2023 NBA trade market into action by making the first major move of the year by acquiring Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards. The Lakers gave up Kendrick Nunn and 3 second-round picks, including one second-round swap where the Lakers hold rights to the better pick.
Moving on from Nunn allowed LA to clean up their guard rotation and add a versatile 6’8″ player in Hachimura. Fans of the franchise are overjoyed and have been celebrating the move which didn’t cause them to lose any major assets.
Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder was on a stream when the news broke and looked shell-shocked.
Dennis Schroder found out about the Rui Hachimura-Kendrick Nunn trade live on his stream 😬 pic.twitter.com/dalbupWtjO
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 24, 2023
“What trade? Rui? oh no, hell no. Rui for Kendrick Nunn? Oh my god, I gotta text Rui. I gotta text Kendrick Nunn. It’s crazy man, the NBA is a business.
After the shock subsided, Schroder got peppy and told his stream it was a good trade. The Lakers point guard rotation is between just him and Russell Westbrook now, with Hachimura bolstering a previously-thin frontcourt.
Is This Enough For The Lakers?
Now that we know the Lakers’ front office is willing to throw in future second-round picks to make moves happen, there are players they could still go after using contracts like Patrick Beverley’s $15 million. Adding someone like Terrence Ross to add shooting and another wing could help the Lakers more than playing Beverley out of position.
Hachimura has a polished offensive skill set, though his shooting has been inconsistent. Hopefully, he’ll get more space to let 3-pointers fly in LA and make those shots with greater consistency. His mid-range shooting arsenal could help out when LA needs a tough bucket. Hachimura doesn’t move the needle and make LA a top-6 team, but it definitely raises the quality of the team they put out on the court.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
