Rui Hachimura publicly makes one major demand from Lakers' front office
LA Lakers forward Rui Hachimura made his thoughts clear on what the team needs going into the 2025-26 season. The 27-year-old was one of the bright spots in the team's disappointing and season-ending 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media after the torrid defeat, Hachimura spoke of the lack of size that hurt the Purple and Gold. He stressed the need to get a player who can bag rebounds as the center-less Lakers struggled on that aspect throughout the series.
"When asked what the Lakers need in order to have their playoff performance to match up to their own expectations, Rui Hachimura says: "We couldn't get rebounds. We need somebody to get rebounds"
The LA Lakers lost a bonafide big in Anthony Davis as part of the Luka Doncic trade. They rescinded the trade for center Mark Williams over his 'failed physical'. Jaxson Hayes fell out of the rotation, while Maxi Kleber played one game which was the all-important Game 5 after losing a major chunk of the season to a knee injury.
Rui Hachimura has had a solid season by all accounts. He ended Game 5 with 23 points on 9-16 shooting from the field and 5-8 from the deep. He also recorded four rebounds and a block. His season averages saw him prop up 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.
After Rui Hachimura's take, NBA analyst wants Lakers to make a beeline for Giannis Antetokounmpo as their rebounding presence
CBS Sports' Sam Quinn believed the Lakers could add a solid rebounding presence in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Knowing the franchise's history to pull bug names and make a trade out of it, Quinn believed that barring LeBron James and Luka Doncic, the Lakers could sacrifice their roster for the 'Greek Freak'.
"Offer everything but Dončić and James. Reaves, picks, other players, whatever. They'll say no, but hey, you have to make the call. These are the Lakers, after all, and as they learned with Dončić, they tend to be pretty lucky in these endeavors."
While the deal does look enticing, it remains to be seen if they will make the beeline for the forward. But for now, the Lakers have a summer that needs them to put the right pieces around their superstar duo and Rui Hachimura's take stands valid.
