The Los Angeles Lakers drew first blood in the lead-up to this year’s NBA trade deadline by acquiring forward Rui Hachimura from the Wizards in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second round picks.
It’s not huge, it’s not flashy, but it did happen.
First thought: This does make the Lakers a better team right now. Hachimura will slot into an important role in the rotation. He likely starts with Anthony Davis out.
However, with Davis attempting to return this week, it will be interesting to see how big that role turns out to be. Thomas Bryant has been playing out of his mind recently, so I’m not sure Hachimura has a place to start as long as Davis remains healthy.
A crunch-time five of Dennis Schröder, LeBron James, Hachimura, Bryant, and Davis doesn’t really sound great in theory. It has a lot of size, but opponents would run the floor all over this lineup. Bad idea.
It’s more likely Hachimura plays a prominent role on the second team alongside Russell Westbrook (for now… is he even on this team in a month?). The Lakers have a lot of weird puzzle pieces that don’t necessarily fit together, but a Westbrook/Hachimura combo alongside Patrick Beverley and Austin Reaves isn’t necessarily terrible…?
Hachimura’s three-point shooting has fallen off dramatically this season (almost 10 percentage points!), and it was getting clear the situation with him in Washington wasn’t necessarily working out. It is still interesting the Wizards let him go considering the potential that’s there.
And then there’s the return. Kendrick Nunn and three second round picks. Personally, I throw the picks out of the window in this trade. Nikola Jokic, Manu Ginobili, and Draymond Green were second round picks, but what are the odds of hitting on one of those? 20-1? 50-1? Worse?
As a result, the value in this return really centers around Nunn, who had two fantastic years in Miami before missing all of 2021/22 with a knee injury that was mysterious to say the least. I didn’t know bruises kept players out for entire seasons.
For the Heat, Nunn averaged double-figures in almost 30 minutes per game and was an important piece of Miami’s finals run in the bubble. Post-injury, he’s never really been the same. For the Lakers, he only played 14 minutes per game and barely made any impact on the scoresheet.
So, from LA’s perspective, you dump a player who’s barely contributing and some picks that are barely worth anything to get a clear rotational upgrade. Sounds acceptable.
For Washington, I think this signals a potential firesale on the way to a blow-it-up situation. You think Scoot Henderson has already shopped D.C. real estate?
Rating: Because Hachimura’s shooting has fallen off, I’m okay with this trade, but it’s pretty average. I’m not sure it really moves the needle in any meaningful way for the Lakers. Embers.
