Lakers News: LA Re-Signing Rui Hachimura Via Three-Year Deal

He's coming back, folks!

Your Los Angeles Lakers have enjoyed a robust free agent run thus far today.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, LA is bringing back incumbent restricted free agent power forward Rui Hachimura on what looks like a team-friendly three-season, $51 million deal.

Hachimura had been one of the team's clear top two free agent priorities, along with fellow high-upside 25-year-old restricted free agent Austin Reaves, who Los Angeles has yet to re-sign.

The 6'8" vet, drafted with the ninth overall pick by the Washington Wizards in 2019, was flipped to LA for Kendrick Nunn and three second round draft picks (all of which were replaced in subsequent transactions) in January. Though he had a somewhat uneven run during the regular season with his new team, Hachimura stepped up in a huge way in the team's postseason run to the Western Conference Finals.

He averaged a meager 9.6 points on .485/.296/.721 shooting splits and 4.7 rebounds across his 33 regular season contests as a Laker (nine starts). In his 16 playoff games, however, Hachimura really made his money. He averaged 12.2 points on a red-hot slash line of .557/.487/.882 and 3.6 boards a night. 

Los Angeles has been busy during the opening hours of NBA free agency, having also added point guard Gabe Vincent via its non-taxpayer mid-level exception, forward Taurean Prince with its biannual exception, and forward Cam Reddish on a veteran's minimum.

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