Rui Hachimura on Future: 'The Lakers have Been Good and We're Going to See'

As Rui Hachimura is on the verge of becoming a restricted free agent, his future with the Los Angeles Lakers is uncertain going into the offseason.

Appearing on ESPN's Hoop Streams on Friday night (starts at 24:20 mark), Hachimura noted the Lakers "have been good and we're going to see" when asked about being a restricted free agent.

There's been a lot of speculation about the Lakers' roster since their season ended with a loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.

Kyrie Irving's name often pops up in Lakers' rumors, but it seems like a long shot to happen for a number of reasons.

The Athletic's Jovan Buha recently noted it was "certainly possible" the Lakers sign Irving, but he would put the odds "somewhere in the 10 to 15 percent range."

Per The Athletic's Tim Cato, there's "really no reason" for the Dallas Mavericks to help facilitate a potential sign-and-trade if Irving wants to go to Los Angeles unless the Lakers want to include Austin Reaves.

Los Angeles doesn't have the ability to create enough money for a max salary. ESPN's Bobby Marks noted the most the front office can do is open $35 million in cap space by getting rid of virtually every player on the roster except Reaves, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Waiving Jarred Vanderbilt and Mo Bamba, not exercising Malik Beasley's team option and renouncing free agents Hachimura, D'Angelo Russell and Lonnie Walker IV would get the Lakers to $30.5 million in available cap room. They can open up an additional $4.5 million by trading Max Christie and the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

Per Marks, Irving's starting max salary is $47 million.

Hachimura increased his stock thanks to his playoff performance. The 25-year-old averaged 12.2 points on 55.7 percent shooting (48.7 percent from three-point range) in 16 postseason games.

During the regular season, though, Hachimura wasn't any different during his time with the Lakers than he was with the Washington Wizards. He averaged 13.0 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting from the field (33.7 percent from behind the arc) in 30 appearances for the Wizards.

In 33 regular-season appearances with the Lakers after being traded on Jan. 23, Hachimura averaged 9.6 points per game and shot 48.5 percent (29.6 percent from three-point range).