The 2025-26 season will be one of the most important in the recent history of the Los Angeles Lakers. While LeBron James and Austin Reaves highlight their list of potential free agents for next summer, they have yet to decide on the future of Rui Hachimura.
Hachimura is entering the last year of a three-year $51 million deal he signed with the Lakers in 2023. Now set for free agency, the franchise will have to make the decision on whether they want to keep him alongside Luka Doncic in the new era of the team.
Dan Woike of The Athletic reports that Hachimura’s status next summer is a ‘very underrated subplot‘ on a team filled with storylines across nearly their entire roster.
Hachimura’s Future With the Lakers
Hachimura averaged 13.1 points, five rebounds, and 1.4 assists on 50.9% shooting for the Lakers last season. He played multiple positions, including spending time at center for Los Angeles, and has proved to be a valuable addition for a reasonable price.
“Another very underrated subplot of this Lakers season,” Woike wrote. “Hachimura, to me, represents a lot about what the Lakers have done right in terms of ID’ing an undervalued player and molding him into a useful piece while also showcasing some of their weaknesses.”
As his production has been strong, Woike believes Hachimura could be a part of the Lakers’ future led by Doncic.
“And he does a lot of the stuff that should shine alongside Dončić,” Woike added. “Another good season and you could argue that he should be with the Lakers for another multi-year stint, even if it eats into some of their future flexibility.”
Though it wouldn’t be ideal for general manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office, losing either James or Reaves could mean they could keep Hachimura on a new, likely more expensive deal.
He’s averaged at least 13 points and four rebounds on at least 50% shooting from the field and 40% from three in his last two years with the Lakers. While questions remain on his defensive ability, especially against top-tier big men, Hachimura isn’t a player Los Angeles would like to see walk, like what happened with Dorian Finney-Smith this summer.
Missed Out On Another Big Man
Woike’s comments on Hachimura came in a mailbag article, responding to multiple Lakers topics. Another question he responded to was that of a potential trade that never came to fruition. While they did sign Deandre Ayton as their new starting center, Los Angeles was reportedly also targeting another big man on the Portland Trail Blazers.
I have a hard time believing a team that’s so close to the first apron that it can’t currently sign a free agent would gamble on not one, but two guys that have no track record of availability,” Woike said about a potential move for Robert Williams III and Matisse Thybulle from Portland.
Both would drastically help the Lakers on the defensive side of the floor, but both have a history of injuries, failing to stay on the court for full seasons at a time.
As things stand now, the Lakers won’t make any other big moves this summer. As the season goes on, and they get more insight on James’s mindset and the players that fit around Doncic, that could change, and they could make a move at the 2026 NBA trade deadline.
Though Pelinka has a lot on his plate over the next 12 months, Hachimura remains one of the more underrated storylines for the league’s premier franchise.
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