Lakers: Why Rui Hachimura Trade May Mean Russell Westbrook Is Here To Stay
Today, your Los Angeles Lakers shocked the basketball world by actually making, dare I say it, a savvy trade. The team will move the expiring $5.3 million contract of Kendrick Nunn and three future second-round draft picks to the Washington Wizards in exchange for fourth-year power forward Rui Hachimura, a young, athletic big who could play some small forward on this Lakers club.
The 6'8" big man out of Gonzaga is still on his rookie scale contract, and will be a restricted free agent this summer. He's also eligible for a rookie extension, which Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports the Lakers intend to give him.
Fascinatingly, though LA reserve point guard Russell Westbrook and his bloated $47.1 million expiring deal have long been the subject of trade speculation throughout the season (and the offseason), this Hachimura deal adds further fuel to the fire that Westbrook will, in fact, not be moved by the February 9th NBA trade deadline.
As Arash Markazi of The Sporting Tribune observes, Hachimura is actually the third Washington Wizards teammate of Westbrook's to join the club this year, alongside reserve center Thomas Bryant and bench wing Troy Brown Jr.
There's a decent chance that, when (if?) everyone on LA is healthy for the regular season's home stretch, all four of these now-ex-Wizards will comprise the team's main backups. So from that vantage point, it makes sense that LA is looking to surround Westbrook with teammates he knows and is comfortable with -- which suggests, to me at least, that the team might expect to keep Westbrook around through the end of the season after all.
Westbrook has been entirely rejuvenated by his move to the bench after just two (terrible) games as a starter this season. He's playing within himself on offense for the most part, and has been more efficient in recording his scaled-down scoring, rebounding and passing numbers than he was last year. He's even playing defense again! He's not worth what he's making, that is true, but there was a point earlier this season where I thought he might only fetch a veteran's minimum deal in free agency this summer. That is no longer the case. He has proven that he still has plenty of life left as winning basketball player, albeit most likely in this new super-sub role. It appears that LA thinks so, too.
