As the Los Angeles Lakers get ready for the upcoming offseason, the front office has a lot of work to do. Los Angeles was bounced from the first round of the playoffs in five games, putting a quick end to what was a special season.
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The Lakers have a lot of questions around how the roster will look next season, and this could see Los Angeles be very active. The Lakers understand that they need to build the team around star guard Luka Doncic and star forward LeBron James, giving them the best possible chance to win.
This could mean moving some core pieces of the roster in the hopes of building a better team. One name that has been floated around is that of forward Rui Hachimura, and it seems that Los Angeles could elect to put him into trade discussions.
According to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register, Hahcimura could see his name come up in the trade buzz this offseason.
"In 2025-26, Hachimura will be on the last season of a three-year, $51 million contract he signed with the Lakers during the 2023 offseason," Price wrote. "With an $18.3 million salary for next season that is part of an expiring deal, and it being evident that he's still rounding out his game and developing, Hachimura will likely come up in offseason trade buzz as the Lakers look to upgrade their roster after back-to-back first-round playoff exits.", he said.
Hachimura has been solid for the Lakers during his tenure, and he has turned himself into a sniper from beyond the 3-point line. But his defense remains a little questionable, and the Lakers may look to move on.
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For the season, Hachimura averaged 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.8 steals per game. Hachimura was crucial to the Lakers' success, but his inconsistency at times did hurt the team.
The Lakers likely don't want to trade Hachimura, but he is entering the season on an expiring deal. If the front office doesn't want to extend him, trading him this offseason while his value is highest could be a good decision.
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