This summer, decisions on futures with the Lakers were aplenty.
The team committed to Luka Dončić, signing him to an extension. Austin Reaves was offered an extension but declined it, though bigger deal
next summer seems to be the likeliest outcome. LeBron James had his own decision as he opted into his contract.
However, one player who has flown under the radar has been Rui Hachimura. He, too, was extension eligible, though fans might not have realized this since there were no reports whatsoever of the Lakers having contract discussions with him.
During media day, all Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka would say about Hachimura’s situation was that the organization doesn’t discuss ongoing contract negotiations in public.
So, entering the final year of his deal, could his uncertain future become a distraction for Rui?
“It’s the business side of it,” Hachimura said on media day. “I know I can’t really do anything about it. I just got to play my game. I just got to do whatever I need to do to help this team to win this year. It’s not going to be for me to kind of think about it, to do anything about it, because I can’t do anything about. It’s out of my control so I think I’ll just do whatever I need to do to help this team to win and then whatever comes after, it comes with it.”
If Hachimura maintains this mentality, everything will be okay.
All he can control is doing his job and listening to his head coach, JJ Redick. The rest will take care of itself. While plenty of fans are debating if Hachimura should be the fifth starter for the Lakers, playing well is all he can do.
Now, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about his role. When the media asked Hachimura and Marcus Smart about starting, they had very different answers.
Smart was much more diplomatic, while Hachimura seemed to lean toward wanting to start, acknowledging that it will be up to Redick to decide.
In the end, if Hachimura plays his best, he’ll start if he’s better than the other options, and he’ll earn a nice payday next summer from the Lakers or someone else.
Hachimura has good size, and if he scores in the teens again and makes 40% of his 3-point shots at a high volume, plenty of teams will value that, and his compensation will reflect it.
Until then, it’s time to chop wood and carry water. During his tenure as a Laker, Hachimura has done that every year, and this season should be no different.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
