**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins



Los Angeles Lakers: C

Finally, the Lakers have made a trade, although it's not the blockbuster we've been discussing since at least the 2022 trade deadline. Instead, the Lakers are making use of their stockpile of second-round picks to add a player they hope will be part of their long-term future.

Four seasons into his NBA career, the idea of Hachimura's game has been better than the results. At 6-foot-8, Hachimura is skilled for his size, but his late start with high-level basketball (a native of Japan, Hachimura did not come to the United States before arriving for a redshirt season at Gonzaga, where he played two years) has limited his effectiveness.

In particular, Hachimura hasn't filed out the box score as well as you'd like. Per 36 minutes, he's averaged just 1.1 combined steals and blocks this season, putting him 309th among the 369 players with at least 250 minutes this season. Hachimura is also a below-average defensive rebounder and playmaker for a combo forward, leaving him highly dependent on scoring to create value (13 PPG).

Shooting will be the swing skill for Hachimura going forward. He made 45% of his 3s in 43 games during 2021-22, the only season to date where Hachimura's true shooting percentage has been better than league average. That's dropped back to 34% this season, a bit below his career mark of 36%.

On the plus side, Hachimura won't turn 25 until next month, so there may be further development ahead. His size will be a plus on a Lakers team that has gotten tiny with LeBron James out of the game in Anthony Davis' absence. James had been the Lakers' only player capable of playing small forward taller than 6-foot-6.

The most interesting aspect of this deal is Hachimura's next contract. His $15.6 million cap hold as a restricted free agent this summer would swallow up nearly half of the Lakers' projected $30-plus million in cap space. The Lakers could reduce that if they sign Hachimura to a deal that starts at a lower value, but as long as he's re-signed using Bird rights, the Lakers are almost assuredly out of the bidding for a top-tier free agent.

In turn, that could affect the Lakers' decision-making before the trade deadline. If they're not using their full cap space, the Lakers may be better off staying over the cap and retaining Bird rights on Russell Westbrook as well as potentially accessing the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, projected at $11.4 million.

Staying over the cap would give the Lakers a better chance of building quality depth than spending all their cap space on a single player and having only the smaller room midlevel (projected at $5.9 million) to offer additional players appreciably more than the minimum. Using cap space to make the Westbrook trade is part of how the Lakers' depth got so precarious in the first place, after all.

If that's the direction the Lakers plan to go, it could make sense to deal 34-year-old guard Patrick Beverley, who's in the final season of his contract. The Lakers could target a younger player that's either under contract for 2023-24 or they intend to re-sign to a long-term deal like Hachimura.

To their credit, the Lakers made a deal that increases their 2022-23 payroll in pursuit of a playoff spot. Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, this deal adds a little more than $3 million to the Lakers' tax bill. Perhaps the Lakers can get more from Hachimura than the Wizards did and make him a long-term piece. Still, for that money and the second-round picks, I would have targeted a player with more proven production.

Washington Wizards: B+

Certainly, this wasn't the outcome Washington was hoping for with Hachimura, the team's highest draft pick since 2013 when he was taken No. 9 overall in 2019. With little progress to show from Hachimura's first three-plus NBA seasons and his free agency looming, cashing out was probably the right play.

The bigger question for the Wizards is whether they're done dealing. After all, Hachimura wasn't the team's most important impending free agent at forward. That's former Laker Kyle Kuzma, who has outplayed his possible extension value (four years, $70 million, per Marks) and will almost certainly decline a $13 million player option for 2023-24 in favor of testing free agency.

Making a move that slightly reduces team salary (Nunn makes $5.25 million this season, about a million less than Hachimura) gives Washington more wiggle room in constructing future trades without going into the luxury tax, a non-starter for a team two spots out of the play-in tournament. The Wizards now stand $1.4 million below the tax line.

Washington also gets an interesting second-round pick in this year's draft. The 2028 and 2029 picks are so far out as to be of little value at the moment, but Chicago's second-rounder would land 39th if the season ended today, a spot where the Wizards could find a quality prospect.

As for Nunn, there may not be a spot for him in Washington's crowded backcourt at full strength, but he's quietly played decently in January (10.5 PPG on .572 true shooting percentage) after a dreadful start to the season coming off missing all of 2021-22 due to a bone bruise in his right knee. Nunn is in the last year of his contract, meaning this trade won't affect the Wizards' books going forward.
 

Nah, I'm with it. #Beastbrook #Bestbrook 🔥🔥🔥🔥

I've said previously in here that I can appreciate his improved attitude and I've honestly and truly always loved his tenacity and the energy he puts on the floor as soon as he hits the hardwood. Stupid plays? Side of the backboard shots? Sure, so develop a game plan where you're maximizing his positives and controlling his negatives. It's really simple with him: We've discussed it in here a bunch about not using him in crunch time. But as far as having him come off the bench and be a gamer?

I'm with it.
 
Watched the last 6 minutes of the 4th again....

It was for sure interesting to watch Lebron hunt Dame on those screens.

The ball moved great and not a lot of Bron just holding the ball late into the shot clock.

He either went to drive for a layup or kicked it to the open man.

Maybe they found something here....
 
If I'm gonna be greedy, a big time shooter is the glaring need. I think you can talk yourself into Bev, Walker and a 1st for Trent Jr.

AD, Bron, Brown Jr, Trent Jr, Schroder with Bryant (or Wenyen), Rui, Reaves and Brick would be the nine man rotation.
 


Los Angeles Lakers: C

Finally, the Lakers have made a trade, although it's not the blockbuster we've been discussing since at least the 2022 trade deadline. Instead, the Lakers are making use of their stockpile of second-round picks to add a player they hope will be part of their long-term future.

Four seasons into his NBA career, the idea of Hachimura's game has been better than the results. At 6-foot-8, Hachimura is skilled for his size, but his late start with high-level basketball (a native of Japan, Hachimura did not come to the United States before arriving for a redshirt season at Gonzaga, where he played two years) has limited his effectiveness.

In particular, Hachimura hasn't filed out the box score as well as you'd like. Per 36 minutes, he's averaged just 1.1 combined steals and blocks this season, putting him 309th among the 369 players with at least 250 minutes this season. Hachimura is also a below-average defensive rebounder and playmaker for a combo forward, leaving him highly dependent on scoring to create value (13 PPG).

Shooting will be the swing skill for Hachimura going forward. He made 45% of his 3s in 43 games during 2021-22, the only season to date where Hachimura's true shooting percentage has been better than league average. That's dropped back to 34% this season, a bit below his career mark of 36%.

On the plus side, Hachimura won't turn 25 until next month, so there may be further development ahead. His size will be a plus on a Lakers team that has gotten tiny with LeBron James out of the game in Anthony Davis' absence. James had been the Lakers' only player capable of playing small forward taller than 6-foot-6.

The most interesting aspect of this deal is Hachimura's next contract. His $15.6 million cap hold as a restricted free agent this summer would swallow up nearly half of the Lakers' projected $30-plus million in cap space. The Lakers could reduce that if they sign Hachimura to a deal that starts at a lower value, but as long as he's re-signed using Bird rights, the Lakers are almost assuredly out of the bidding for a top-tier free agent.

In turn, that could affect the Lakers' decision-making before the trade deadline. If they're not using their full cap space, the Lakers may be better off staying over the cap and retaining Bird rights on Russell Westbrook as well as potentially accessing the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, projected at $11.4 million.

Staying over the cap would give the Lakers a better chance of building quality depth than spending all their cap space on a single player and having only the smaller room midlevel (projected at $5.9 million) to offer additional players appreciably more than the minimum. Using cap space to make the Westbrook trade is part of how the Lakers' depth got so precarious in the first place, after all.

If that's the direction the Lakers plan to go, it could make sense to deal 34-year-old guard Patrick Beverley, who's in the final season of his contract. The Lakers could target a younger player that's either under contract for 2023-24 or they intend to re-sign to a long-term deal like Hachimura.

To their credit, the Lakers made a deal that increases their 2022-23 payroll in pursuit of a playoff spot. Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, this deal adds a little more than $3 million to the Lakers' tax bill. Perhaps the Lakers can get more from Hachimura than the Wizards did and make him a long-term piece. Still, for that money and the second-round picks, I would have targeted a player with more proven production.

Washington Wizards: B+

Certainly, this wasn't the outcome Washington was hoping for with Hachimura, the team's highest draft pick since 2013 when he was taken No. 9 overall in 2019. With little progress to show from Hachimura's first three-plus NBA seasons and his free agency looming, cashing out was probably the right play.

The bigger question for the Wizards is whether they're done dealing. After all, Hachimura wasn't the team's most important impending free agent at forward. That's former Laker Kyle Kuzma, who has outplayed his possible extension value (four years, $70 million, per Marks) and will almost certainly decline a $13 million player option for 2023-24 in favor of testing free agency.

Making a move that slightly reduces team salary (Nunn makes $5.25 million this season, about a million less than Hachimura) gives Washington more wiggle room in constructing future trades without going into the luxury tax, a non-starter for a team two spots out of the play-in tournament. The Wizards now stand $1.4 million below the tax line.

Washington also gets an interesting second-round pick in this year's draft. The 2028 and 2029 picks are so far out as to be of little value at the moment, but Chicago's second-rounder would land 39th if the season ended today, a spot where the Wizards could find a quality prospect.

As for Nunn, there may not be a spot for him in Washington's crowded backcourt at full strength, but he's quietly played decently in January (10.5 PPG on .572 true shooting percentage) after a dreadful start to the season coming off missing all of 2021-22 due to a bone bruise in his right knee. Nunn is in the last year of his contract, meaning this trade won't affect the Wizards' books going forward.



:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
 
If I'm gonna be greedy, a big time shooter is the glaring need. I think you can talk yourself into Bev, Walker and a 1st for Trent Jr.

AD, Bron, Brown Jr, Trent Jr, Schroder with Bryant (or Wenyen), Rui, Reaves and Brick would be the nine man rotation.
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Rui Hachimura traded to Lakers: How this move helps Los Angeles now and later

In finalizing a trade for Rui Hachimura, the Los Angeles Lakers are making a long-awaited upgrade on the wing — both for this season and potentially the future.

After months of deliberation over finding the right player and deal, the Lakers opportunistically struck on Hachimura, the No. 9 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft who had become increasingly unhappy with his lack of a contract extension and decreased role this season with the Washington Wizards, league sources confirmed to The Athletic. The Lakers shipped Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks to Washington, the teams announced on Monday.

The Lakers and Wizards discussed the deal for several days with draft compensation being the primary haggling point, according to league sources. The Athletic reported last week that Washington was exploring potential trade destinations for Hachimura.

The soon-to-be 25-year-old Hachimura has the size (6 foot 8, 230 pounds), length (7-foot-2 wingspan) and athleticism that the Lakers desperately need in the frontcourt. His ability to play either forward spot helps balance the roster’s positional structure. It’s unclear if Hachimura will start on Day 1, but the expectation is that he will start next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis once the rotation settles, multiple team sources told The Athletic.

Hachimura’s acquisition does not preclude the Lakers from making another trade before Feb. 9. They enter the next two-plus weeks armed with two first-round picks (2027 and ’29) and three players (Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV and Russell Westbrook) they could use as matching salaries when upgrading the roster.

With Davis set to return soon, the Lakers are further evaluating the roster and rotation and still determining if they want to make a minor or major upgrade with their tradeable draft assets. At this point, their most likely move would be trading Beverley and a lottery-protected first-round pick for another wing or frontcourt upgrade. But the Lakers are willing to consider adding more assets to get a better player, depending on Davis’ recovery and the state of the market as the deadline nears.

Detroit’s Bojan Bogdanović continues to be the name most often tied to the Lakers in league circles, but the Pistons are looking for an unprotected first-round pick, at a minimum, in a potential trade, according to league sources. The Lakers’ preference is to only give up a lottery-protected first for the 34-year-old Bogdanović, though that could change when up against the trade-deadline clock.

No matter what happens next, the Hachimura trade is an undisputed win for Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and the rest of the front office.

The Lakers alleviated their backcourt jam, dumping their least productive guard for the minor cost of three second-round picks, one of which (2028) is a swap on a pick they originally owned. In turn, they got younger, bigger, longer, more athletic and more talented in landing Hachimura, who they can retain for multiple seasons. They showed that they’re willing to take on more money — their luxury tax bill increased by nearly $3 million after the deal — for a team that’s currently 22-25 this season but has shown its potential by going 10-9 with Davis out with a right foot injury.

Internally, Los Angeles is high on Hachimura, believing he has untapped potential that he wasn’t able to show with the Wizards after they chose to prioritize Kyle Kuzma and Deni Avdija. The Lakers are interested in retaining Hachimura and currently expect to re-sign the restricted free agent this offseason, league sources told The Athletic. According to those sources, Hachimura is expected to command a double-digit annual salary though much lower than his nearly $19 million cap hold.

In 30 games this season, Hachimura is averaging 13.0 points on 55.8 percent true shooting, along with 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game (he missed 16 games earlier in the season with a bone bruise in his right ankle). The Japanese native is shooting 33.7 percent on 3-point shots, a below-league-average figure, but he shot 44.7 percent from beyond the arc last season and 47.0 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s. That indicates he could shoot better in Los Angeles with James, Davis and Westbrook creating higher-percentage looks for him.

Hachimura fares well in most defensive metrics, ranging from an above-average defender (plus-0.3 in defensive RAPTOR) to a good defender (plus-0.9 in defensive EPM). The video shows a talented and physically gifted defender who can improve his effort, consistency and awareness. The Lakers are optimistic that playing in head coach Darvin Ham’s system and alongside veterans like Davis, James, Westbrook and Beverley will help bring out Hachimura’s unrealized defensive potential.

Durability is a bit of a concern, as Hachimura has never played more than 57 games in an NBA season — though that number is partially skewed by last season, when Hachimura, with the Wizards’ blessing, missed the first 39 games of the season to tend to his mental health.

At a minimum, Hachimura’s arrival, coupled with Nunn’s exit, will decrease the number of three-guard lineups the Lakers use, which will help on the defensive glass and against teams with multiple wing scorers. The Lakers have been at a size advantage in most games this season.

After allowing 39 second-chance points to the Memphis Grizzlies last Friday — the most a team had given up in over 25 years — James pointed out that they didn’t have as many 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9 players as the Grizzlies. It was not the first time he has voiced his displeasure with the roster’s lack of length and size this season.

“I think we’re playing with like three or four right now,” James said.

The Lakers have found chemistry with their current starting lineup of Thomas Bryant, James, Troy Brown Jr., Beverley and Dennis Schröder, but with three significant pieces expected back soon in Davis, Austin Reaves and Walker IV, this starting five was always going to be temporary.

A Davis-James-Hachimura frontline gives the Lakers a versatile trio with good size, length and athleticism. They’ll be able to switch across most matchups with Davis serving as by far the best defensive big man that Hachimura has played with in his four-year career.

Hachimura will slot in as the third or fourth offensive option in most lineups, though his career average of 16.9 points per 36 minutes ranks sixth on the roster behind James, Davis, Westbrook, Schröder and Bryant.

The cost for the Lakers is Nunn, who had been playing much better recently, but is the odd man out when the Lakers are at full strength. With Reaves and Walker IV returning soon, Nunn, 27, would have been the team’s sixth guard at best, penciled in behind Reaves, Schröder, Walker IV, Beverley and Westbrook. He struggled to make an impact and find a rhythm this season, connecting on just 32.5 percent of his 3s. Aside from Damian Jones, Nunn was the most expendable player on the Lakers’ 14-man roster.

Realistically, this was as good of a trade as the Lakers were going to find in exchange for Nunn and multiple second-round picks. They potentially found their starting forward of the future, depending on how Hachimura fits, the rest of their trade activity and how the free-agent market plays out this summer.

The 12th-place Lakers are just one game out of the No. 10 seed and two games back of the No. 6 seed. With James and Davis both playing like top-10 players this season, they loom as the potential lower-seeded opponent no one wants to face in a seven-game series — as long as they can get there.

This move helps them get closer. While it isn’t the type of blockbuster deal that could vault the Lakers into contention, it’s a step in the right direction for the Lakers with minimal downside.
Interesting that Jovan is reporting that Rui is gonna eventually start. He's also reporting Bev and picks is still being shopped.
 
If we not trading Russ... we gotta package Bev & Lonnie
Hopefully Rob has another move in him.

Both Pat Bev and Lonnie's salaries combined plus Jones = Myles Turner. All we gotta do is throw in that first rounder.

A 6'11" big who can shoot threes, block shots, and most importantly can switch all 5 positions on defense. Turner checks off multiple needs.

OR

Pat Bev & Lonnie + FRP = Gary Trent Jr, who fills one need - 3-point shooting.
 
Watched the last 6 minutes of the 4th again....

It was for sure interesting to watch Lebron hunt Dame on those screens.

The ball moved great and not a lot of Bron just holding the ball late into the shot clock.

He either went to drive for a layup or kicked it to the open man.

Maybe they found something here....

Season turning point?
 
Also watching the last back stage Lakers and want to give Jesse Buss a some props.

He is the Director of scouring and he talked about how he had been tracking Max since high school.

He has been in scouting for a while and his track of 2nd round picks is pretty good.
 
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