The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired forward Rui Hachimura in a trade with the Washington Wizards for guard Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks, it was announced today by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.
The Wizards acquired Nunn, a 2023 second round pick (via Chicago), the less favorable of the 2028 second round picks of Los Angeles and Washington and Los Angeles’ own 2029 second round pick from the Lakers. Washington also generates a trade exception in the exchange.
“We are excited to welcome Rui and his family to the Los Angeles Lakers,” said Pelinka. “Adding both size and depth to the wing position has been a goal, and the chance to accomplish that by acquiring a player with Rui’s two-way skills and upside was an opportunity that doesn’t present itself often. We want to thank Kendrick Nunn and his family for his time as a Laker, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
Hachimura (6’8”, 230) has appeared in 30 games for Washington this season, averaging 13.0 points (.488 FG%, .337 3P%), 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 24.3 minutes per game. In 177 career NBA games (118 starts) across four seasons (2019-23) with the Wizards, the 24-year-old has averaged 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 27.8 minutes, shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from 3-point range. Hachimura, who received All-Rookie Second Team honors in 2020, has played in five career playoff games (all starts) with the Wizards, averaging 14.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 34.6 minutes per game.
The Japan native was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after a three-year collegiate career (2016-19) at Gonzaga University. In his final season as a junior, Hachimura appeared in 37 games and averaged 19.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 30.2 minutes per contest on his way to being named a consensus First Team All-American.
“Kendrick has shown the ability to be a solid perimeter threat who can provide instant offense as a reserve,” said Wizards President Tommy Sheppard. “He has proven to be a valuable contributor during his young career, most notably as key role player helping Miami make a run to the Finals.”
Nunn, a 6-3 guard in his third NBA season, holds career averages of 13.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 162 games with the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. He has appeared in 39 games (two starts) this season in Los Angeles, averaging 6.7 points per game. Nunn had appeared in every game for the Lakers during the month of January, scoring a season-high 23 points in a win over Atlanta on January 6 and averaging 10.5 points on .474 shooting from the field in 18.3 minutes per game.
Nunn was selected as a member of the 2019-20 All-Rookie First Team while with Miami after averaging 15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, helping Miami to an NBA Finals appearance in the NBA Bubble. The Chicago native followed his rookie campaign by averaging 14.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in 2020-21 with Miami before missing the entire 2021-22 campaign with a right knee bone bruise.