Rui Hachimura Receives Lakers' $7.7m Qualifying Contract Offer, Will Become RFA

Rui Hachimura will be a restricted free agent this offseason after the Los Angeles Lakers tendered the $7.7 million qualifying offer for the 2023-24 season.

The 2019 first-round pick can sign the qualifying offer or hit free agency, and the latter seems likely because he can probably earn slightly more money with a long-term deal or even a one-year pact.

His RFA status gives Los Angeles the chance to match any offer sheet he signs with another team.

The Athletic's Jovan Buha told the HoopsHype podcast in March he thought the Lakers would be willing to pay $10 million annually, perhaps two years and $20 million or three years and $30 million as an example. He added they might be prepared to walk away altogether if the price climbed much higher than that.

The Lakers acquired Hachimura from the Washington Wizards in January. The move represented a fresh start following a nondescript tenure in the capital, but his performance didn't markedly improve on the West Coast.

In 33 appearances for the Lakers, the 25-year-old averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds and shot 29.6 percent from three-point territory.

His best performance in purple and gold was in a 134-109 victory over the Houston Rockets on April 2. He came off the bench to score 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added 12 rebounds for the double-double.

Hachimura's performance, in particular his scoring efficiency, improved in the playoffs. He shot 55.7 percent from the field and 48.7 percent from deep during Los Angeles' run to the Western Conference finals.

Perhaps the front office thought Hachimura would benefit from playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The former is an elite playmaker, the likes of which the Japan-born player didn't have in Washington, while the latter is another star who occupies the defense's attention away from some of the supporting players.

Hachimura didn't make a breakthrough with the Lakers, and their flurry of deals ahead of the trade deadline meant he was relegated to a reserve role after briefly starting following his arrival.

That did provide a silver lining for L.A.

There's almost no scenario in which the 6'8" forward could have played his way into a max contract. If he had enjoyed a surge in the second half, though, a bit of a bidding war could have emerged.

As long as the Lakers continue to build around James and Davis, they have to be somewhat judicious with their finances.

Should a team step up to the plate with an unexpectedly large offer for Hachimura, general manager Rob Pelinka shouldn't catch a ton of heat for letting him walk. This wouldn't be a repeat of the Alex Caruso situation, where the front office seriously misjudged how important he was to the squad and let him sign with the Chicago Bulls.

In a perfect world, the Lakers can retain Hachimura on a reasonable contract because it's tough to win a title when you're constantly turning over the roster. With the benefit of a full offseason in L.A., maybe he can hit a different level in 2023-24 as well.

If push comes to shove, Pelinka can go in a different direction and look to sign another veteran with the mid-level exception.