Hachimura agreed to a three-year, $51 million contract to remain with the Lakers on Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Hachimura was a restricted free agent, but the Lakers aren't going to waste any time. They clearly prioritized this agreement and it's safe to expect Hachimura to play a big role in their frontcourt. In 33 appearances for the Lakers last season, Hachimura averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds on 48.5 percent shooting from the field.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Qualifying offer extended
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The Lakers extended a qualifying offer to Hachimura on Tuesday, ensuring he will become a restricted free agent, Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.com reports.
The Lakers will now have the opportunity to match any offer to Hachimura this offseason. The 24-year-old forward will likely receive a sizable contract after averaging 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds on 55.7/48.7/88.2 shooting splits across 16 games in the 2022-23 playoffs.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Gets starting nod Monday
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Hachimura is in the starting lineup for Monday's Game 4 against Denver, Chris Haynes of Turner Sports reports.
Hachimura will replace Jarred Vanderbilt in the starting five Monday. Hachimura is averaging 12.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 23.0 minutes across the first 15 games of the playoffs.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Scores 21 points off bench
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Hachimura totaled 21 points (8-10 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 4-4 FT), two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 30 minutes during Thursday's 108-103 loss to Denver in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
Hachimura went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field en route to a game-high 17 first-half points. Despite a lack of aggression in the second half, the fourth-year forward still finished one point shy of tying LeBron James and Austin Reaves for the team high in points and led all bench scorers on either team in scoring. Hachimura has proven capable of being a dynamic offensive threat off the bench in the playoffs thus far and is off to a hot start in the Western Conference Finals, posting 19.0 points per game while shooting 76.2 percent from the field.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Plays key role in Game 1 loss
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Hachimura contributed 17 points (8-11 FG, 1-1 3Pt), one assist and one block across 28 minutes during Tuesday's 132-126 loss to the Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Hachimura played an important, two-way role Tuesday. He scored an efficient 17 points off the bench while also providing serviceable defense, matching up with Nikola Jokic at times. While this was an encouraging performance, we have seen Hachimura move up and down in the rotation throughout the playoffs, depending on the state of the game. He will likely get another shot at meaningful minutes in Game 2 but will presumably need to perform adequately should he hope to maintain that role.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Scores 21 points off bench
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Hachimura produced 21 points (8-14 FG, 4-6 3Pt, 1-2 FT), five rebounds and one steal in 22 minutes during Thursday's 127-100 loss to Golden State in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Hachimura went 4-for-4 from deep in the first half en route to 14 points and finished second on the team in scoring behind LeBron James (23). On a night that was overwhelmingly disappointing for the Lakers, Hachimura's performance was one of the few bright spots. He had failed to score in double figures in four consecutive games after posting 21.7 points through his first three playoff matchups against Memphis in Round 1, so Thursday's outing was a nice bounce-back effort. The Lakers may need Hachimura to stay hot to avoid losing home-court advantage as the series shifts to Los Angeles for the next two games.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Contributes 16 points from bench
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Hachimura closed Saturday's 111-101 victory over the Grizzlies in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals with 16 points (6-10 FG, 2-2 3Pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds and one steal over 22 minutes.
Hachimura continues to put up solid stat lines in relief. Over the first three games of the opening-round series, he's averaged 21.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 28.0 minutes.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Strong effort off bench
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Hachimura posted 20 points (7-12 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 4-6 FT), five rebounds, two assists and one steal across 32 minutes during Wednesday's 103-93 loss to the Grizzlies in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
For the second game in a row, Hachimura looked impressive off the bench and was one of the Lakers' top players. He's scored at least 20 points in both playoff contests and should remain a reliable offensive threat ahead of Game 3 at home Saturday. Of note, Hachimura's also scored at least 20 points in three of his last eight outings while reaching double-digit figures in his last five appearances dating back to the regular season.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Scores team-high 29 points
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Hachimura registered 29 points (11-14 FG, 5-6 3Pt, 2-2 FT), six rebounds and one assist across 30 minutes during Sunday's 128-112 victory over the Grizzlies in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
In his first career playoff game, Hachimura came off the bench and got hot from deep in the second half. He finished with a team-high 29 points, his most since joining the Lakers.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Pops for 17 points off bench
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Hachimura ended with 17 points (7-11 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-3 FT), six rebounds and one assist across 25 minutes during Tuesday's 135-133 overtime win over the Jazz.
Hachimura led all bench scorers with 17 points and finished with at least six rebounds for a third straight contest. During that stretch, the fourth-year forward has averaged 13.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 assists in 23.7 minutes per game.
Hachimura posted 20 points (10-14 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 0-2 FT), 12 rebounds, one assist and three blocks in 25 minutes during Sunday's 134-109 win over Houston.
Hachimura quietly recorded just his second double-double of the season in the win and his first as a member of the Lakers. Given what we have seen from him since arriving in Los Angeles, managers should be viewing this as an outlier as opposed to what we can expect moving forward. The fact they were up against the Rockets should also be factored in when analyzing his performance.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Minimal production Wednesday
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Hachimura accumulated zero points (0-3 FG, 0-1 3Pt) and two rebounds across 13 minutes during Wednesday's 122-111 win over Phoenix.
Hachimura came off the bench for a third consecutive matchup Wednesday, and he was held scoreless for just the second time this season during the victory. The 25-year-old has operated as a reserve in 14 of his last 15 appearances and has averaged 8.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game during that time.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Moves to bench
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Hachimura will return to the bench Friday against Dallas.
No surprises here with Anthony Davis (foot) back from a one-game absence. Hachimura failed to make the most of his opportunity Wednesday, scoring five points in 17 minutes.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Starting Wednesday
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Hachimura will join the starting unit for Wednesday's game against the Rockets with Anthony Davis (rest) unavailable, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports.
Joining Hachimura in the first unit for Wednesday's game will be D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Troy Brown and Jarred Vanderbilt. Through eight starts with the Lakers this season, Rui has averaged 12.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.9 triples per contest on 47.4 percent shooting from the field and 63 percent at the stripe.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Scores two points in 20 minutes
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Hachimura registered two points (1-5 FG, 0-2 3Pt) and three rebounds across 20 minutes during Sunday's 113-105 win over Golden State.
Hachimura was invisible in the win, scoring just two points to go with basically nothing else. Despite having a nice opportunity to contribute, he is yet to produce anything close to 12-team value. In fact, he is well outside the top 250 over the past month, averaging 8.3 points per game. At this point, he doesn't even deserve a roster spot in deeper formats.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Limited results off bench
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Hachimura produced four points (2-6 FG, 0-4 3Pt) and four rebounds across 16 minutes during Wednesday's 120-102 victory over New Orleans.
Hachimura came off the bench Wednesday after starting in the Lakers' previous eight games, and he didn't have much of an impact in the comfortable win. The 25-year-old was relatively successful as a starter with his new team, averaging 12.0 points and 6.6 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game. It's not yet clear whether Hachimura will continue to come off the bench following the All-Star break, but his fantasy upside will be limited if he's in a reserve role consistently.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Coming off bench Wednesday
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Hachimura will not start Wednesday's game against the Pelicans, Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet reports.
Hachimura will join the reserves after starting the Lakers' last eight games. Over that stretch, he averaged 12.0 points and 6.6 rebounds across 28.4 minutes. It's unclear if Coach Darvin Ham is just testing a new lineup or if Hachimura will continue to come off the bench moving forward. Fantasy managers should keep an eye on his status following the break.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Pops for 19 in OT win
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Hachimura finished with 19 points (8-12 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 1-2 FT), nine rebounds and one block over 40 minutes during Tuesday's 129-123 overtime victory over the Knicks.
It was an encouraging outing for the former Wizard considering both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were back in the starting five. Hachimura figures to get bumped to the bench once Patrick Beverley (knee) is available too, although it's possible Troy Brown loses his starting spot instead. In four games since joining the Lakers, Hachimura is averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 boards and 1.0 threes in 28.5 minutes a night while shooting 52.5 percent from the floor.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Starting Monday
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Hachimura will start in Monday's contest against the Nets, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News reports.
The newly-acquired forward will make his first start in a Lakers' uniform with both LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (foot) ruled out. Across Hachimura's first two games with Los Angeles, the 24-year-old is averaging 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists across 23.0 minutes per game.
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Lakers' Rui Hachimura: Contributes right away
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Hachimura registered 12 points (4-7 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 3-6 FT), six rebounds, one assist and one steal over 22 minutes during Wednesday's 113-104 victory over San Antonio.
If Wednesday's win was any indication, we will be seeing a lot more from Hachimura as the season progresses. Not only did Hachimura distinguish himself under the basket, he offered a slash-and-shoot style that provided an added dimension to the offense. His arrival is bad news for fantasy managers who are riding Troy Brown for production, as it appears coach Darvin Ham is grooming Hachimura for a starting role.
