The Los Angeles Lakers are always in search of the right pieces to surround the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis and one player who has proven to be an excellent fit next to them in the frontcourt is Rui Hachimura.
A big, physical forward, Hachimura has proven himself to be a solid starter next to LeBron and Davis with his offensive skillset and ability to stretch the floor, while also making improvements defensively. But with trade season lurking, all names are sure to appear in rumors and Hachimura is no different.
However, it sounds as if the Lakers would prefer for him to remain in purple and gold as, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the franchise views him as a longer-term piece whom they’d prefer to keep around:
“I think Rui is viewed as a longer-term piece. I don’t think that means they would not trade him, but I think when you look at, there are four midsize salaries that the Lakers can trade between now and Jan. 15. On Jan. 15, Max Christie becomes available, so then it becomes five, but between now and Jan. 15, the Lakers have four midsize salaries to trade. That’s Rui, DLo, Gabe and Vando. I think among those four, the guy that they’d prefer to keep from that group would be Rui. That’s the guy that they view as the longest-term piece.”
Because of his salary, Hachimura being mentioned in rumors was always going to happen, but it makes sense that the Lakers would prefer to keep him out of those deals. Maybe if the team was set to bring in an All-Star caliber player, but with the team seemingly eyeing more mid-level deals for role players, there are other players they would rather get rid of.
Hachimura is still only 26 years old, the same age as Austin Reaves, so he is someone the team could keep around for the foreseeable future. Those two, along with Dalton Knecht and Max Christie, seem like the role players the Lakers don’t want to give away in trades.
That still leaves D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt to dangle in trades, not to mention minimum-salary fillers such as Christian Wood and Cam Reddish, plus draft compensation. The Lakers do have some assets, it is simply a matter of finding the right deal and a team willing to work with.
Lakers expected to be ‘active buyers’ ahead of trade deadline
And the Lakers are undoubtedly scouring the league in hopes of finding a deal or two that can help fix the issues that have been plaguing this team all season long.
The latest report said that the Lakers are expected to be one of the more ‘active buyers’ around the league in hopes of maximizing the final years of the LeBron James-Anthony Davis duo. But teams also know the Lakers want to deal and may use that to try and raise the price so the front office must be smart in how they handle this deadline.
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