When the Lakers traded for Rui Hachimura in 2023, they were acquiring a disgruntled wing, upset that the Wizards were not willing to commit to him long-term.

The player who helped them to the second round of the 2026 playoffs years later had changed drastically, embracing his role on a team and franchise that has spent multiple years developing him and reaping the benefits.

With the Lakers, Rui has become one of the best long-range shooters in the league and blossomed into a vital role player for a team with title-contending aspirations each year. His incredible performance in the postseason couldn’t have come at a better time for him personally as he’s set to enter free agency this summer.

After the team’s Game 4 loss to the Thunder to end the season, Rui was asked about his impending free agency. As free-agents-to-be always say, he noted he had not thought about it, but did speak about the joy of playing for the Lakers.

“I love this team,” Hachimura said. “I love this organization since I got here. This is my fourth season here. Start from [President of Basketball Operations] Rob [Pelinka], everybody. The owners, Jeanie [Buss] and now new owner Mark [Walter]. I just like them. I just like how they operate everything.

“I really appreciate them for what they’ve done for me. They did a lot for me. I love it here, but at the end of the day, I’m not the one negotiating. My agent is negotiator. I’m not a good negotiator. I put everything on my agents.”

You can understand why he isn’t doing the negotiating because he did a lot to show his hand in this answer. He clearly enjoys a lot of things about playing for the Lakers, including being part of a franchise that committed to his future.

Even outside of this quote from Hachimura, reports indicated that the expectation around the league is Rui will return to the Lakers. The price will be an interesting aspect of that.

At around $14-15 million, any team could compete for Rui’s services with the mid-level exception. However, that’d be a pay cut compared to his current deal, and given how well he’s performed, it feels unlikely that will be the case.

In that event, realistically, only the Lakers, Nets and Bulls can afford to bring him back. And, at his age, it seems unlikely he’d go to rebuilding teams in Brooklyn or Chicago. It puts the Lakers in the driver’s seat, if they want him back.

And based on how he played in the postseason and the commitment they’ve made for him, it’d be a surprise if they didn’t.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.