While the Lakers have been certain to appease Luka Dončić this summer, it doesn’t appear they abided by his every wish.
Luka and the Lakers appeared to be in lockstep on a number of ideas heading into the offseason. Luka wanted to continue playing with Austin and the Lakers reached an agreement on a four-year contract with him.
Next, Luka wanted a top-tier center after a season-and-a-half of underwhelming options. The Lakers agreed and traded for Walker Kessler before signing him to a four-year deal.
However, while Luka apparently wanted a Rui Hachimura back, the Lakers balked. On Monday, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Rui would be signing with the Clippers on a two-year deal. According to Law Murray of The Athletic, Rui was among the players Luka wanted the team to bring back.
The Lakers very recently ran into issues with LeBron James having input on roster decisions, so you can understand why they might be hesitant to go all-in on the next superstar’s requests. Fulfilling two of Luka’s three wishes feels like enough.
There’s also a decent basketball argument for letting Rui walk. The Lakers do have a hole at the forward position, but his skillset isn’t a perfect fit, necessarily. Rui is a terrific 3-point shooter, but not a great rebounder, defender or passer. The Lakers need many of those things from that forward position, as well as some athleticism, another thing not associated with Rui’s game.
So, the Lakers are looking elsewhere for a wing option instead of bringing back Rui. The good news for Luka, and likely Austin, is that Rui, who they seem to have built a strong bond with off the court, will remain in Los Angeles.
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