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This video shows a ton of what Rui can do.

You won't need to know Japanese to see the potential



Pick and rolls, pick and pops, give and gos, corner 3s, on the wing in transition, above-the-rim threat, physicality and finishing through contact, going downhill on smaller switches, uses his bulk to seal in the post, pull-ups from mid-range, sweet looking jumper mechanics.

Would also benefit a ton being the recipient of passes from willing passers like LeBron and Westbrook.

I totally get the stylistic comparisons with Kawhi

No doubt the team is better with Rui than Nunn and i think playing with Lebron and AD will put him in the best possible situation to succeed on this team.

I still think we need 2-3 guys more to be really competitive.

We definitely need two more wings or a wing and a big to get into the upper echelons of the league.

Right now these are the dudes that can draw playoff minutes in the 2nd round.

LeBron
Davis
Beverley
Schröder
Reaves

The may-bes:

Brown Jr
Rui
Walker II
Wenyen Gabriel

The you're going nowhere good if they play any significant playoff minutes:

Toscano-Anderson
Sterling Brown
Russell Westbrook
Thomas Bryant
Damian Jones
Pippen Jr

Assuming the rotations are going to be shortened to 8 players, we probably need to upgrade on Walker and Brown Jr. If we can end the trade deadline with Bojan and GTJ, we'll be cooking with fire.

Davis - Gabriel
LeBron - Hachimura
Bojan - Brown Jr
Trent Jr - Reaves
Schröder - Beverley

LAKESHOW wrote:We wasnt gonna get sh?* outta Nunn and those 2nd round picks. This is an upgrade.

Lakers got Clarkson, Zubac and Thomas Bryant in the 2nd round. Then again, they can buy 2nd rounders after the 45(?) pick from other teams just like they did to get Clarkson, also, Lakers have other 2nd rounders, not sure how many exactly.

tamaraw08 wrote:

LAKESHOW wrote:We wasnt gonna get sh?* outta Nunn and those 2nd round picks. This is an upgrade.

Lakers got Clarkson, Zubac and Thomas Bryant in the 2nd round. Then again, they can buy 2nd rounders after the 45(?) pick from other teams just like they did to get Clarkson, also, Lakers have other 2nd rounders, not sure how many exactly.

Not very concerned about those 2nd rounders. Some of you are more than willing to trade our 2 precious First rounders for 2 role players. And sudden care about giving out 2nd rounders? Not to mention we can buy 2nd rounders and we have other 2nd rounders, what do you expect in return if we do not even give out 2nd rounders in trades ?

Note: Christie is who they drafted after buying a 2nd rounder.

Ball so hard wrote:

cheese318 wrote:

Ball so hard wrote:Solid talent pick up for very little, but very questionable fit. Doubt Bron is the least bit thrilled about this move. It’s been pretty clear for quite some time now that Pelinka doesn’t know how to build a team. Another weak defender with questionable outside shooting is right on par. Theirs is some upside to Rui though so I gotta give him Pelinka that.

Actually he’s not a weak defender. Metrics say other wise.

“ Hachimura fares well in most defensive metrics, ranging from an above-average defender (plus-0.3 in defensive RAPTOR) to a good defender (plus-0.9 in defensive EPM). The video shows a talented and physically gifted defender who can improve his effort, consistency and awareness. The Lakers are optimistic that playing in head coach Darvin Ham’s system and alongside veterans like Davis, James, Westbrook and Beverley will help bring out Hachimura’s unrealized defensive potential.”

This was a home run trade for Pelinka for the value he gave to get him. He can write it off for a three second rounders if it doesn’t work. And if you didn’t know LAL can buy a few 2nds over the next few years and they are replaced that quickly.

Probably more accurate to say some metrics say otherwise. For example, 3-year and 5-year RAMP datasets tell a completely different story, having a 5 year DRAMP of -1.36 (959 rank). There’s no question the guys over at FiveThirtyEight are very good at what they do. However, I’ve argued for years that defense is pretty hard to measure, especially when using models that are influenced by box score. Most advanced stats do a terrible job at it.

I’d guess there’s almost no one who watches Rui and thinks he’s an above average defender. But of course it ought to be true if some nerds/expert create a stat to convince people.

I beg to question how many ppg the wizards have given up on a nightly basis over his four year career. Obviously he would be at fault for some of that bad team defense but you couldn’t blame it all on him. Now if you put Rui on team like MIL or BOS those four seasons I think his defensive metrics would increase because the quality of team defense/coaching that surrounds him. Let’s see what happens with Darvin Ham. His defensive coaching mindset should make him improve to at least be above average and if not then I’ll say I stand corrected. With his wingspan, size and speed he should be a decent defender in this league and we know he has an offensive game but if his defensive game can blossom this will be a great trade

Very meh on this. I doubt it moves the needle in any direction.

This is a half season rental. If we really wanted Rui long term, we could have just signed him in to our cap space this offseason.
The cost isn't too great. We lose a rotation player on a team with a lot of injuries, but we have enough players who can fill in the minutes at Nunn's position. Three second rounders is a lot to pay for a half season rental of a fairly mediocre player.

If we needed an average 3/4, Melo was just as productive as Rui, and could still be had without giving up anything.

Move is HUGE & keeps CAP money... We get longer, more athletic, better rebounder, balanced roster & more upside...

Rui will thrive next to LBJ... Lineup:

PG - Schroder 6'2"& Westbrook 6'4"
SG - Walker 6'4" & Reaves 6'5"
SF - Rui 6'8" & Brown 6'6"
PF - LeBron 6'8" & Gabriel 6'9"
C - AD 6'11" & Bryant 6'10"

Good chance you see Ham start Bryant upfront with LeBron & AD too...

mighty_duck wrote:Very meh on this. I doubt it moves the needle in any direction.

This is a half season rental. If we really wanted Rui long term, we could have just signed him in to our cap space this offseason.
The cost isn't too great. We lose a rotation player on a team with a lot of injuries, but we have enough players who can fill in the minutes at Nunn's position. Three second rounders is a lot to pay for a half season rental of a fairly mediocre player.

If we needed an average 3/4, Melo was just as productive as Rui, and could still be had without giving up anything.

He's a restricted FA. Meaning the Washington could still match any offer he received. Ultimately, you may still need to do a sign and trade. Now, the lakers has the option to keep or to release or to do a sign and trade. And it is clear the Lakers still want reinforcement for this season. Nunn is expiring as well.

Melo is just horrible defensively. Can he run with the team? Definitely not. Has Melo got any upside? Not even a question.

I love Melo. But he's just not the player we need on this team.

Welcome Rui!

What a solid pickup! And for practically nothing given up on the court.

Best of luck in DC, Kendrick! Hope it works out better there. The log jam of old guards and your injury made it a rough stretch with little payout here.

Dr Aki wrote:This video shows a ton of what Rui can do.

You won't need to know Japanese to see the potential

Watch on YouTube

Pick and rolls, pick and pops, give and gos, corner 3s, on the wing in transition, above-the-rim threat, physicality and finishing through contact, going downhill on smaller switches, uses his bulk to seal in the post, pull-ups from mid-range, sweet looking jumper mechanics.

Would also benefit a ton being the recipient of passes from willing passers like LeBron and Westbrook.

I totally get the stylistic comparisons with Kawhi

I agree with most of your takes and I hope and pray that you are right about Rui's style being comparable with Kawhi.
Kawhi made a living taking shots from 3-16 feet and was accurate at it. It's interesting that Rui shoots much better from 10-16 feet at 43% that from 3-10 feet with just under 39% career. Unfortunately, Rui doesn't take a lot of shots from 10-16 attempts only at 18% compared to Kawhi's 22% the past 5 years.
watching highlights from youtube can be very very tricky. Saw one of Rui's clips where he was awesome finishing strong dunking with either hands etc, yet he doesn't do it often enough heck you can find highlights from pretty much everybody and can look good including Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams. [url][/url]

This is a great move value wise, as others have said.

Regarding his fit;

Yes, he's not the super versatile 2/3 wing 3 and D that's on top of our wishlist, but I think he fits in pretty damn well next to Lebron/AD in any lineup, and also fits in well with Bryant and Either AD/Lebron if one was to miss time. In a fully healthy version of the team, we could either use him off the bench with Bryant/AD/Lebron starting, or start him alongside AD/Lebron.

His 34% 3 point percentage doesn't jump off as super impressive, but he has shot 43% from the corner 3 from 21-22 to now, making 29/67.
That would be the third highest corner 3 percentage from any laker in the past 2 season (with atleast 15 makes). First is Augustin, followed by Melo, with a slightly better percentage.

As for the midrange, He would rank 4th at 42%, behind Melo, A.bradley, and Thomas Bryant, with significantly more attempts than Bradley & Bryant. It should also be noted that he's made a significant jump this year from midrange, (51% compared to 41% last year, with similar volume already).

All those numbers should improve playing next to Lebron, RW, and AD. His midrange and corner 3 numbers are both better than Kuzma's from 19-20 to 20-21 (when he played with both AD and Lebron). which would probably be similar to the role he plays here.

So he would be one of our best shooters on the roster, but the coaching staff needs to put him in the right position to succeed.

I'll admit that his defensive stats don't look too impressive, though it's hard to predict how those would change playing for the Lakers, next to AD. He seems to have the tools to be atleast neutral on that end, with a 7'2" wingspan (more than Kuz/Melo/Gabriel/Lebron/M.Morris). On the defensive end I'm sure the effort will atleast be there considering he's a young player on an expiring contract.


As for the value, it's essentially 2 second rounders (third one is a swap in 2029...there is no reason to think that the Laker pick will be much more valuable than the Wizards pick) Nunn wouldn't be getting minutes if Reeves and Walker were healthy with the way Schroder is playing. I don't see much of a risk here. Depending on how he played and how free agency goes, you could consider resigning him/matching offers or renouncing his rights in the offseason, but even as a rental it's decent value for a team trying to make the playoffs.

Slava wrote:We definitely need two more wings or a wing and a big to get into the upper echelons of the league.

Right now these are the dudes that can draw playoff minutes in the 2nd round.

LeBron
Davis
Beverley
Schröder
Reaves

The may-bes:

Brown Jr
Rui
Walker II
Wenyen Gabriel

The you're going nowhere good if they play any significant playoff minutes:

Toscano-Anderson
Sterling Brown
Russell Westbrook
Thomas Bryant
Damian Jones
Pippen Jr

Assuming the rotations are going to be shortened to 8 players, we probably need to upgrade on Walker and Brown Jr. If we can end the trade deadline with Bojan and GTJ, we'll be cooking with fire.

Davis - Gabriel
LeBron - Hachimura
Bojan - Brown Jr
Trent Jr - Reaves
Schröder - Beverley

My priority now in the trade market would be best player available, regardless of position. Before Rui, I would've leaned heavily into a wing. Now, I'd simply just want best player available. Prior to Rui, Bojan would've been #1.

Assuming these are the available players at the deadline: Bogdanovic, Hield, Turner, Charlotte guys, Detroit guys, Eric Gordon, Utah guys, potentially Chicago guys, Spurs guys, I'd rank the following in order as the players I'd want the most along with what I'd pay for them:

1) Alex Caruso, 1st unprotected
2) Trent Jr, 1st unprotected
3) Malik Beasley, 1st unprotected
4) Bojan Bogdanovic, 1st unprotected
5) Myles Turner, top 4 protected 1st
6) Buddy Hield, top 10 protected 1st
7) Jordan Clarkson, lottery protected 1st
8) Alec Burks, lottery protected 1st

Those are the players I'd be willing to pay 1st round picks for in a trade.

9) Eric Gordon, x2 2nd rounders
10) Doug McDermott, x2 2nd rounders
11) Josh Richardson, x2 2nd rounders

My fully healthy rotation with current roster (10 man):

Anthony Davis (26) / T. Bryant (22)
R.Hachimura (26)/ James (14) / Anthony Davis (8)
Lebron James (20)/ T. Brown (14)/ Walker (14)
Beverley (12)/ Reeves (22)/ Walker (10)/ Schroder (4)
Schroder (20)/ Westbrook (28)


Obviously a lot of players are interchangeable in terms of where they get their minutes, and this is assuming Ham wants to continue starting Beverley to set a defensive tone.
- Anytime Lebron and Rui are playing together, they could be considered interchangeable at the 3/4 depending on matchups.
- Pretty much all of Reeves and Walker's minutes are interchangeable.
- Beverley should only play the first 6 minutes of each half, and he could guard the opposing PG or the SG depending on matchups.
- Goal would be to have one of Lebron and Westbrook in at all times. Try to also maximize time when AD&RW are both in when Lebron is sitting.

Our ideal next move, if FO is willing to take on salary past next year: trade Beverley & Walker (1 or 2 first rounders if needed depending on the return) for a upgrade at guard. Reduce rotation to 10 man. For example: Beverley/Walker/1st rounder for Hield works under the trade checker.

Hypothetical 9 man healthy rotation:

Anthony Davis (26) / T. Bryant (22)
R.Hachimura (28)/ James (12)/Anthony Davis (8)
Lebron James (22)/ T. Brown (14)/ Hield (12)
Hield (16)/ Reeves (24)/Schroder (8)
Schroder (18)/Westbrook (30)

- Hield's & Reeves would be interchangeable at the 3.

In both scenarios W.Gabriel enters the rotation if anyone has to miss anytime/ foul trouble/etc.