Two teams are showing interest in the former Lakers forward as free agency approaches.
Rui Hachimura enters the 2026 offseason in a spot every role player dreams about.
The 28-year-old forward is an unrestricted free agent after finishing the final season of his three-year, $51 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his market is starting to take shape quickly with free agency set to open on June 30.
Multiple Teams Are Circling
According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, Brooklyn keeps surfacing as a likely suitor for Hachimura.
"Brooklyn keeps coming up as a likely suitor, too, for the Lakers' Rui Hachimura, league sources say," Stein wrote. "The Nets and Spurs are two teams we've heard have interest in adding Hachimura's services, while the Spurs are also faced with resolving Harrison Barnes' future as the veteran forward heads to unrestricted free agency."
The interest from both teams makes sense when looking at their situations.
The Nets finished the year at 20-62 and have roughly $47 million in projected cap space, putting them in position to either chase a big name or spread money across multiple players.
The Spurs went 62-20 and reached the NBA Finals, but Harrison Barnes averaged just 10.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in a smaller role this past season, and his status as an unrestricted free agent means San Antonio could look at Hachimura as a forward who fills a similar spot with more scoring upside.
What a New Deal Could Look Like
Hachimura made $18.3 million in the final year of his last contract, and that number gives a rough baseline for what his next deal might look like.
Some around the league believe he could push past $20 million per year given how well he played this season and into the postseason, where he averaged 17.5 points per game while shooting 56.9 percent from three across 10 playoff games.
A deal in the range of three years and $60 million would not be surprising, and teams with cap space are in the best spot to offer it.
Why Los Angeles Should Fight to Keep Him
The Lakers earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference before getting swept by Oklahoma City in the second round.
Hachimura was one of the most efficient players on the roster, putting up 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from three across 68 games.
Those shooting numbers fit perfectly next to Luka Doncic, whose league-leading 33.5 points per game showed just how much this offense still needs spacing around its star.
Los Angeles just committed $185 million over four years to Austin Reaves, and the front office still has several roster decisions to sort through before the summer is over.
With LeBron James' own free agency looming and the team exploring wing additions through trade, the financial picture is tight.
But Hachimura is the kind of player who gets harder to replace the longer a team waits, and letting a 44-percent three-point shooter walk for nothing would leave a hole this roster cannot afford heading into next season.
