When NBA free agency opened several weeks ago, the Los Angeles Lakers quickly lost LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes. Once their new-look roster started to take shape, they still had a big hole at one of their starting forward positions, and there was some hope that they would retain forward Rui Hachimura.
However, Hachimura opted to join the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that is clearly on a downward trajectory, instead. The Clippers aren't exactly the faux-contenders they were a few years ago, especially now that star forward Kawhi Leonard is apparently on his way out, pending a trade to the Toronto Raptors, and that Paul George, James Harden and Ivica Zubac are long gone.
But Hachimura, via ClutchPoints, raved about the
Clippers organization and said that he's "so happy" to be a member of the team.
“I'm just so happy,” Hachimura said. “The Clippers are an amazing organization. Even when talking to other NBA players, they always rave about how great the Clippers organization is. It's truly a player-first team, you know. They take care of their players while having that winning mentality. The Clippers are a young team. A year ago, they were called the oldest team in the league, but they've transitioned to a younger generation especially with Kawhi Leonard getting traded. Joining them right as they build this next generation is huge for me, and I'm incredibly excited.”
The Clippers are now built around Darius Garland, whom they acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers for Harden, and rookie Keaton Wagler, who was the No. 5 pick in June's draft. They may miss the playoffs again this coming season, but Hachimura also cited a couple of other reasons for choosing them.
“Above all, being able to stay in LA is the best outcome for me,” Hachimura added. “They support their players of course, their families and inner circles from what I hear. Plus they have a brand new arena with advanced physical and medical support and all kinds of useful tools for physical training. I'm really looking forward to all of it.
“My top priority was winning. The roster construction, the team organization, and their style of play altogether, the Clippers felt like they gave me the best opportunity. Plus, like I keep saying, playing with a team of younger players is a first for me since my time with the [Washington] Wizards. I've always played on roster with veterans, so having this experience is going to be a lot of fun.
“It's a young team and while the roster itself is young, the organization is relatively young here, too. They only moved to L.A. a few decades ago, so I want to help them build and shape that L.A. culture.”
Hachimura originally came to the Lakers in a trade with the Wizards in January 2023 at a time when the Lakers were starving for productive complementary players, especially at the forward position. He had always been a capable scorer in iso situations, but with the Purple and Gold, he expanded his game by becoming an elite 3-point shooter.
During the 2022-23 season, he made just 31.9% from 3-point range. But since then, he has made 42.6% of his 3-point attempts, and last season, he was at a sizzling 44.3% from that distance. By shooting 56.9% from downtown in this spring's playoffs, he moved into first place in all-time career playoff 3-point accuracy at 51.6%.
Bringing him back would've provided the Lakers with, at the very least, a stopgap solution to their need for a viable starting forward.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former Laker Rui Hachimura on why he joined the Clippers
