Lakers hope swap meets needs with Hachimura move
Trade for Wizards’ big forward is a lower-tier, sensible deal to help with size and scoring.
The Lakers — the team whose trade aspirations have been dissected and discussed since the offseason — made a trade Monday, their fans collectively reacting in a singular way.
Finally.
The team sent a trio of second-round picks and guard Kendrick Nunn to Washington for Rui Hachimura, a 6-foot-8 hybrid forward who turns 25 in a couple of weeks.
Instead of starting trade season with a blockbuster deal highlighted by either their 2027 or 2029 first-round picks, the Lakers struck a more sensible note in trading for the former lottery pick.
The deal, which became official Monday afternoon, required the Lakers to trade Chicago’s 2023 secondrounder, which they had acquired, and their own 2029
second-rounder. The Lakers also will swap 2028 secondround picks if the Wizards’ is higher than theirs.
The Lakers addressed some obvious needs and better balanced their roster by swapping out a small guard for a big wing.
Hachimura is kind of a classic “buy low” player. He has the size and shooting you’d want out of a modern power forward, but durability and roster construc