Rui Hachimura, the first Japanese player drafted in the first round of the NBA draft has agreed to resign with the Los Angeles Lakers on a three-year 51 million dollar contract. Hachimura was a valuable piece the Lakers acquired in the trade deadline deal that sent Russell Westbrook to the cross-town Los Angeles Clippers and effectively transformed their roster into one that they could be competitive with. Effective at guarding wings, guards, and on occasion matchup nightmare Nikola Jokic as well as being a threat from beyond the arc Hachimura is the kind of versatile player that is in high demand in today’s NBA. Though he has been in the league since 2019, Hachimura is still relatively young at 25 years old. He also provides the team with a player who can be a crucial role player in the approaching post-LeBron era Lakers.
The Lakers also picked up Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince in free agency, which all appear to be moves centered around addressing the team’s lack of three-point scoring and defense. The Lakers and Austin Reaves agreed to a four-year max extension in an effort to create a strong core of young players they want to build around in addition to the veteran Prince. Earlier today, the Lakers signed Jaxon Hayes who can function as a stretch five and also offers the ability to help provide rim protection, which despite having Anthony Davis, the Lakers struggled to reliably provide. They also agreed to a deal with Deangelo Russell who is coming back on a team-friendly deal with a player option after the second year of his deal.
Reactions from Laker Nation seem to be mostly positive as they have managed to retain most members of the team that went on a Cinderella-type run during last year’s playoffs while adding more youth and versatility to their roster, which was GM Rob Pelinka’s stated goal going into the free agency period. The future for the Lakers looks bright, and they are positioned to make a push for the playoffs this year as any team with LeBron James on its roster has to be.
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Gabe Vincent
Taurean Prince
Cam Reddish
Jaxson Hayes
Re-signed Rui Hachimura
Re-signed D’Angelo Russell
Re-signed Austin Reaves
Lakers free agency so far. pic.twitter.com/DPgyLDqChF
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 1, 2023