The Los Angeles Lakers saw their 2025-26 season end on May 11, 2026, at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Thunder swept the Lakers out of the playoffs, and Rui Hachimura is among those who have headed out of town.
Hachimura took to Instagram on Friday to share what he has been up to lately. Notably, the 28-year-old appeared to board a private jet and spend time on a boat.
View this post on Instagram
Hachimura’s post came to Luka Doncic’s attention, and he had some advice for him.
“Save your money sir,” Doncic wrote.
“Can I borrow some from you?” Hachimura asked.
“No,” Doncic bluntly stated.
“Damn,” Hachimura replied.
rui responds 😂 pic.twitter.com/9fPFIALbaZ
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) May 23, 2026
Doncic loves poking fun at his friends. It wasn’t too long ago that we saw the Slovenian wildly troll Jarred Vanderbilt over his dislocated finger. The 2025-26 Lakers sure had great chemistry.
It’s also never a bad idea to tell someone to save up. Hachimura, though, is likely in line for a significant payday as he hits free agency this summer. The forward averaged 17.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Lakers in the 2026 playoffs. He was ridiculously efficient, too, as he shot 54.9% from the field and 56.9% from beyond the arc.
It will be interesting to see what kind of contract Hachimura seeks this summer. He signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Lakers back in 2023, and his stock has gone up since.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks has Hachimura at sixth in his free agent rankings. Marks would only give him a four-year, $64 million deal, though, which is slightly less per year than the one he signed in 2023. Will that be good enough for Hachimura? Time will tell.
We have listed the five best landing spots for Hachimura, and returning to the Lakers, who acquired him from the Washington Wizards in January 2023, looks to be his best option.
As for Doncic, he got his big deal last year. The Lakers signed him to a three-year, $165 million extension in August 2025.
Doncic has a player option for 2028-29, which he can opt out of to potentially sign a deal worth over $400 million over five years. According to Spotrac, he has already made about $198 million in salaries so far in his career. Doncic can certainly lend Hachimura a whole lot of money, but isn’t interested in doing so.
