The Los Angeles Lakers finally made their first big splash of the season last week when they traded for young forward Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards.
Right away, Lakers fans rejoiced at the move, and many felt Rui would help get them closer to their goal of winning a title. Still, many fans are asking why the Wizards even traded Rui in the first place and what it could mean about his trajectory going forward.
While we might never have an answer for all the questions about the trade, Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard addressed many of them during a recent interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
Rui Did Not Fit Wizards’ Long-Term Vision
Speaking with Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine, Sheppard revealed the true motivations behind his breakup with Rui and what ultimately pushed him to agree to send him to L.A.
“Unfortunately when you’re building teams you got windows and there are budgets and there’s a lot of projections ahead of what ultimately your team can do to stay competitive, to stay better each year than you were the previous year and it just kinda came down to numbers and roles… ultimately I think the role Rui was looking for was probably something that didn’t exist here with minutes and shots and stuff. I value him, he’s a hell of a player for us. But we’ve had a player kind of burst on the scene for us and his fit with Bradley beal and Kristaps Porzingis. Those are three 20-point scorers in the NBA.”
It’s rare to hear such an honest and candid response from the GM of a team, but Shappard is confident in the trade and is seemingly confident in his team’s ability to keep Kyle Kuzma beyond this season.
Sheppard also said he’d rather give frontcourt minutes to Dani Advija instead for his defensive intensity.
“We could always score the ball, we just had trouble getting stops and I think it was important that Dani sees the floor. Sometimes it just comes down to really hard, difficult choices. And I think it’s a really good opportunity for Rui. It’s really good for us to open up those minutes for Dani.”
"It just kind of came down to numbers and roles."
Wizards President and GM Tommy Sheppard tells @TheFrankIsola & @Scalabrine how the Rui Hachimura trade went down@WashWizards | #DCAboveAll pic.twitter.com/Oj1g1jTfzC
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) January 27, 2023
The Wizards have been stuck in mediocrity for years now, and there are no signs that will change this season. But if the Wizards can re-sign Kyle Kuzma and continue to build up their assets, it might not be long before they rise above their station.
For now, they are still on the outside looking in, and every move counts. But if Rui breaks out into something special in Los Angeles, the Wizards may never live it down…
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