3 Lakers on Thin Ice After Luka Doncic Trade
By Chris Schad
2. Rui Hachimura Could Be Traded as Part of Another Lakers Blockbuster
Like Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura signed a big contract that has been paired with uninspiring results. The soon-to-be 27-year-old is in the second year of a three-year, $51 million contract and became a starter midway through last season. But his production has been modest with 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and a .426 3-point percentage in 40 games.
There’s also the concern of Hachimura’s defense which caused The Athletic’s Jovan Buha to claim that teams see him as “a neutral value” ahead of this Thursday’s trade deadline.
“If you want to trade Rui…you’ve got to attach assets,” Buha said on his “Buha’s Block” podcast last week. “...Rui is a guy that, depending on the night, looks like a starter or looks like a fringe rotation player.”
If I'm the Lakers, my goal at the trade deadline is to trade some combination of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht for a viable, younger center.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) February 2, 2025
They absolutely need a big, but ideally, you keep Reaves and what's left of the draft picks in reserve for a star trade.
That assessment would make it seem like the Lakers may want to find a way to allocate the resources attached to Hachimura. Dorian Finney-Smith recently returned from a shoulder injury and has a previous relationship with Doncic while also shooting .429 from 3-point range after coming over in the trade that sent D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets last month.
With Finney-Smith making $14.9 million this season with a $15.3 million player option next year, it would seem that plugging him into Hachimura’s role makes sense. It could leave Hachimura on the trading block and be the chip that leads to a bigger move.