The Los Angeles Lakers came away from the frontcourt market empty-handed this week, and it cost them a shooter who spent the past few years torching defenses next to Luka Doncic.
Rui Hachimura agreed to a two-year, $28 million contract with the Clippers on Monday, a deal that uses L.A.’s mid-level exception and includes a team option for year two. Dallas was also in the mix, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
He wrote, “The Mavericks, who still possess the full $15 million midlevel, emerged as a suitor for Rui Hachimura along with the Clippers on top of Brooklyn’s long-held interest .”
The Mavericks, who still possess the full $15 million midlevel, emerged as a suitor for Rui Hachimura along with the Clippers on top of Brooklyn’s long-held interest … but Hachimura had a clear intention to stay in LA after 3 1/2 seasons as a Laker. https://t.co/PqxJ18SDF0
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 6, 2026
But Hachimura prioritized staying in Southern California, ditching the Lakers for their hallway rivals. And losing him stings. He spent the last 3½ seasons with the Lakers, proving to be the perfect stretch-four to space the floor for a ball-dominant guard like Doncic. This past season, he torched defenses by shooting 44.3% from deep while averaging 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds.
He took it to another level in the playoffs, putting up 17.5 points and 4.0 rebounds when Doncic and Austin Reaves were absent due to injury. Both the Lakers and Mavs needed to keep him but now they have to watch him do it for the Clippers.
The Mavericks still have plenty of frontcourt bodies to absorb minutes, leaning heavily on P.J. Washington, Caleb Martin, and Naji Marshall while keeping that full $15 million mid-level exception tucked safely in their pocket. But this year’s free-agent market is notoriously thin on pure shooters at Hachimura’s price point.
Watching a proven, low-usage floor-spacer walk to a division rival like the Clippers really hurts, considering how perfectly his game would have fit in Dallas’ system. They already had too many players in the frontcourt, and now that this affordable shooting option is gone, they will likely need a trade to fix the logjam.