Rui Hachimura Contract: How Much Does LeBron James' Bench Replacement Make For The Lakers This Season
Daniel Santos Late in January, the Los Angeles Lakers added more firepower to their bench when they acquired Rui Hachimura. In exchange for Kendrick Nunn and 3 second-round picks, the Purple & Gold added the Japanese youngster to their roster led by the All-Star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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Selected by the Washington Wizards as the 9th pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, Hachimura signed a rookie contract worth just over $20 million. After receiving in the $4-5 million range in the first 3 years of his career, the 6-foot-8 forward salary for the current season is $6.3 million.
What would it cost for the Lakers to retain Rui Hachimura?
After the conclusion of the 2023 Playoffs, the 25-year-old will be a restricted free agent. What does this mean for the California-based franchise? Rob Pelinka’s team will be privileged to offer the 2020 All-Rookie a one-year qualifying offer or match the offer sheet provided to Rui by other franchises.
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With the former Bulldog not having the “starter criteria”, it will cost Darvin Ham and the front office $7.7 million to get him on the qualifying offer.
Even though his stats in the regular season were subpar, acquiring the talent of Rui Hachimura at such a price would be a massive win for the franchise.
Will the Lakers want to acquire Hachimura?
After averaging 12.9 points in the first 3 seasons of his professional career, the big man lodged 13 points in 30 games for the Wizards before being traded to LAL. Since his move to Los Angeles, due to the presence of better ball-dominant players, Hachimura’s productivity went down drastically.
Playing the fewest minutes he’s ever played in his career, the Asian finished the 2022-2023 season with 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds during his stint as a Laker.
However, it is in the postseason that he’s been hooping incredibly. Erupting for a historic 29-point outing in Game 1 of the first round of the postseason, the highflyer finished the series with 14.5 points, helping upset the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Delivering when it matters the most has been beneficial for the franchise and will also help him negotiate during the upcoming offseason.
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