The Los Angeles Lakers brokered the first deal in the NBA in 2023. Rui Hachimura comes to LA from Washington via Trade, in return the Lakers send Kendrick Nunn to the capital.
This is reported by Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN). In addition, the Wizards also get three second-round picks. These are the Chicago Bulls’ 2023 second rounder, the 2029 Lakers pick, and a 2028 second-round pick swap.
A Hachimura trade had been looming for days, as the upcoming restricted free agent didn’t get a contract extension last offseason and was forced into second place with the arrival of Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis. “I want to be somewhere where they want me to be a basketball player,” Hachimura said after the game against Orlando a few days ago, when he equaled a career-high 30 points.
“I want to go to a place where my game is appreciated. I want to go to a place where people believe in me and I can just be me. That’s my goal,” he said. According to Wojanrowski, the Lakers want to keep the 24-year-old with the Lakers beyond the summer as they believe Hachimura can bring length, defense and shooting.
Hachimura was drafted ninth by the Wizards in 2019 and has 13.0 points and 4.3 rebounds this season with odds of 48.8 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from the three-point line. This season, the 24-year-old rakes in around $6.3 million.
In return, Nunn moves to Wizards. After his long knee injury last year, the 27-year-old was not able to convince this season and was clearly at a disadvantage against his rivals in the guard position, such as Dennis Schröder .3 million dollars.
The trade at a glance
Lakers received | received wizards |
Rui Hachimura (F) | Kendrick Nunn (G) |
– | Second round pick 2023 (CHI) |
– | Second round pick 2029 (LAL) |
– | Second round pick 2028 (LAL or WAS) |