Rui Hachimura (25-Japan) talked about his future with the Lakers for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
“My time with the Lakers has been good,” Hachimura told ESPN on Tuesday afternoon (ET).
Hachimura is a young big forward who joined the Lakers from the Washington Wizards last season. “I asked for a trade to find a place where I could be happy,” he said of his time in Washington, adding that he was happy with the Lakers because “they were a team that liked and believed in me as a basketball player and gave me a lot of attention.”
“We lost to Denver in the Western Conference Finals, but it gave me the momentum to grow,” he said, emphasizing that he will never forget his playoff run with the Lakers last season.
However, Hachimura took a step back, saying, “I don’t know what my future will be yet, but I want to be in a place where I can be happy, and the Lakers did a good job, so let’s wait and see.”
Meanwhile, the Lakers’ offseason attention has been centered on retaining Austin Reeves. However, retaining Hachimura is just as much of a priority as Reeves.
Hachimura joined the Lakers in January and after an adjustment period in the regular season, he shined in the playoffs. In 16 playoff games, he averaged 12.2 points on 55.7% shooting from the field and 48.7% from three-point range while playing 24.3 minutes per game.스포츠토토
Filling the big wing spot that the Lakers lacked outside of LeBron James last season, Hachimura became an instant impact player.
Hachimura will become a restricted free agent (RFA) this summer and is expected to receive at least $15 million. It will be interesting to see if the Lakers fulfill Hachimura’s expectations and keep him around next season.