The Los Angeles Lakers and the rest of the sports world watched as the NBA imposed historic penalties on the L.A. Clippers after the league’s investigation into salary cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers have been hit with the hammer, losing five future first round picks. Leonard has been fined. Steve Ballmer has been fined and suspended. And so much more has happened.
Meanwhile, the conversation making the rounds is whether the Clippers have any hopes for their future, and even if newcomer Rui Hachimura, a former beloved Laker, has had any second thoughts about joining the cross-town rival since the NBA ruled on the Leonard and the Clippers.
Former Lakers Star Rui Hachimura Wishes He Never Joined the Other L.A. Team?
Hachimura, 28, may have still been a Laker if the franchise pushed harder to retain him. Hachimura departed the Lakers for the Clippers in free agency, ending his three-year run with the purple-and-gold.
On X, San Antonio Spurs analyst Dusty Garza suggested that Hachimura may be sitting here today wishing he would have chosen another path in free agency.
“Watching the Clippers implode today, you have to wonder if Rui Hachimura regrets his July free agency choice,” Garza wrote on X. “The Spurs called him with the full (midlevel exception) to put him next to (Victor Wembanyama) on a contender with plenty of draft capital and a bright future but instead, he took the exact same money (2 years, $28M) to stay in LA with the Clippers (except the deal he took features a second-year team option. Ouch!) The Spurs immediately pivoted and signed Tobias Harris when they heard him waffling.”
In hindsight, the Spurs would have been the clear better choice over the Clippers. It seems Hachimura valued his desire to stay in Los Angeles, which may have fueled his decision to take a two-year deal with the Clippers.
NBA insider Brett Siegel explained earlier this offseason why the Spurs were no longer an option for Hachimura.
“Although the San Antonio Spurs were brought up as a potential suitor for Hachimura earlier this offseason,” Siegel wrote, “he wasn’t viewed as a realistic option for the franchise, sources said. While the organization did speak with Hachimura’s representation, the Spurs were targeting experience and veteran leadership on a short-term contract rather than a long-term commitment. That is why Tobias Harris was the Spurs’ top target, and they didn’t have much interest in Hachimura.”
Should the Lakers Have Kept Him?
It was certainly interesting to see L.A. strongly pursue Jonathan Kuminga in free agency after supposedly making minimal efforts to sign Hachimura to a new contract.
Hachimura is the more proven, polished player and just so happens to be one of the very best 3-point shooters in the league. He also seemed to have had strong relationships with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Last season, Hachimura sank 44.3 percent of his 3-pointers, ranking among the highest in the NBA, to go along with 11.5 points per game. In the postseason, he was a literal flamethrower from beyond the arc, cashing 57 percent of his tries while averaging nearly 18 points per game.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, who are still trying to work out their starting power forward situation, it isn’t hard to imagine that they would have been better today if Hachimura was still on the roster
Ex-Lakers Star Rui Hachimura ‘Regrets’ Joining Rival Clippers, Analyst Suggests