Yesterday, the Washington Wizards traded forward Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kendrick Nunn and second-round draft picks in 2023, 2028, and 2029. Hachimura, a former ninth overall draft pick, reportedly, "requested a trade away from the Wizards," per Marc Stein of The Stein Line (subscription required).
Washington then dealt him to LA, picking up draft capital and a guard in Nunn with a history of success in Miami prior to a knee injury that kept him out of the 2021-22 season. The Wizards, per many reports, prefer to keep Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis in their power forward mix in future seasons. Thus, they had less room for Hachimura in their rotation — the 24-year old is averaging 24.3 minutes per game this year, down from his career average of 27.8.
The trade is the first significant player movement of the 2022-23 season. The NBA trade deadline is February 9, which is just over two weeks away.
The Indiana Pacers do have a history of multi-team trades with the Wizards and Lakers as they were involved in a five-team deal that sent Russell Westbrook to Los Angeles in 2021. But the Pacers were not included in this Hachimura deal, even with reports suggesting that Indiana is in the market for a power forward.
Despite not being involved, according to NBA Insider Shams Charania, the Pacers were a finalist for Hachimura. Charania broke it down on The Rally.
"The three finalists for Hachimura, I'm told, were the Lakers as well as the Pacers and Phoenix Suns," Charania said. "So this is a deal that was in the makings for a while."
Hachimura is young, and he could be a restricted free agent in the offseason. Young players on team-controlled contracts have been appealing to the current Pacers front office regime in the past. But despite being a finalist, Indiana did not land the 24-year old.
While Hachimura is talented, he doesn't fit the Pacers style well. He isn't a needle mover as a defender or shooter, his athleticism and speed are roughly average, and he doesn't thrive in high-pace situations. Indiana wants shooting, athleticism, and speed. That said, the now-Lakers forward is still young and developing and could improve in the coming seasons. His per-36 minutes numbers are strong this campaign.
The Wizards net rating this season is 6.39 points per 100 possessions better with Hachimura on the bench than in the game, and that number is 3.92 over the Gonzaga product's entire career. The forward's potential and decent play give him some value, but it's understandable why Hachimura was unable to fetch a first round pick in return despite his status as a former top-10 pick and demand reportedly existing from multiple teams.
The Pacers have surplus draft picks in the coming seasons and theoretically could have matched the Lakers trade offer, but it's understandable why they didn't given that it's a potentially wonky fit. They would not have had to include any matching salary since they are below the salary cap, so they had many possibilities to get a deal done if they were so inclined.
The Pacers are on a seven-game losing streak and will look to right the ship with their current team tonight when they take on the Chicago Bulls. Expect the blue and gold to be mentioned in many trade reports in the coming weeks due to their salary cap situation and better than expected record.
More must-reads: