The Los Angeles Lakers had a monster day on Wednesday, when, in less than an hour, they not only chewed up the entirety of the $52 million in cap space to squeeze in Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Quentin Grimes, they also used their room exception to add Collin Sexton and dealt two first-round draft picks to Utah for Kessler. It was a franchise-changing moment, but considering the talent level the Lakers had let walk out the door, the roster has also been left light in some areas–including at forward, where Rui Hachimura had been sent off into unrestricted free agency.
But Hachimura did not find a new landing spot on Wednesday, and as the money has been drying up around the NBA, there has been new speculation that Hachimura has not signed anywhere new because he remains hopeful of a return to the Lakers.
The problem is that the team can’t bring back Hachimura without carving out some new space on the books for him. The Lakers have some options, including trades for players on the roster, as well as potentially waiving a player like Jarred Vanderbilt, whose remaining salary cap hit can be spread over multiple years.
Lakers Could Cut Jarred Vanderbilt to Make Room for Rui Hachimura
The Lakers’ roster is currently at 13 players: Kessler, Mamukelashvili, Grimes, Sexton, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Jake LaRavia are the main rotation players, with rookie Cameron Carr, and fellow youngsters Dalton Knecht, Adou Theiro and Bronny James in the mix for roles, too. Vanderbilt and Ayton are on the roster, but the Lakers would be open to changing that.
As one Western Conference exec told Heavy: “They have been trying to find a taker to Jarred Vanderbilt for a while now. They could still keep looking but that is probably going to be a stretch sort of thing, waive him and stretch him. You save some money and you can bring back Rui who is a guy who, look at that roster, they really need him. But the trade is tough, cutting is more likely.”
The Lakers are likely to keep Deandre Ayton, at least for now, as a backup center behind Kessler.
More Money Needed?
It would not be much more, and that could make the Lakers’ hopes on Hachimura a longshot. He averaged 11.5 points last season and made 44.3% of his 3-pointers, playing in the final year of a three-year, $51 million contract. He was expected to warrant a midlevel exception-sized deal, worth $15 million in the first year, and the Lakers can’t come up with that sort of money.
But if Hachimura can’t get a decent offer elsewhere, either, then a return to the Lakers on a short deal with an eye on returning to free agency next summer makes sense for Hachimura. He’d likely be given a starting role, with Mamukelashvili coming off the bench, and have an opportunity to put up big numbers.
The Lakers are also said to be weighing a Jonathan Kuminga signing after he was not retained by the Hawks. The Lakers have long had interest in Kuminga, but that was before he wore out his welcome in Golden State and Atlanta.
Lakers Rumored to Cut Ties With Big Man for Rui Hachimura Reunion