The San Antonio Spurs already took a solid first step by keeping Julian Champagnie on a team-friendly three-year deal, but there’s still obvious work left on the board. After a five-game series loss to the New York Knicks, the franchise has room to add more perimeter shooting, and free agency gives them a clean path to do it.
One name now tied to San Antonio is Rui Hachimura. In final free agency predictions from Sportsnaut’s Matt Johnson and Jason Burgos, the Spurs are projected to sign the Lakers forward, who has spent the last three and a half seasons in Los Angeles after being traded from the Washington Wizards in January 2023.
Hachimura brings exactly the kind of shooting the Spurs need. Over the last three seasons, he has shot better than 40% from 3-point range each year, and in 2025 he posted a career-best 44.3% on nearly four attempts per game. That kind of production gives him real value in any rotation.
He’s not being sold as a lockdown stopper, but he’s also not someone teams have to hide on defense. That balance is part of what makes him such an appealing fit for San Antonio, whether he ends up starting at small forward or becoming one of the league’s better bench options.
The money is there for the Spurs to make a move, too. They have the full $15 milliom mid-level exception and can add $28 million in new contracts before crossing into the luxury tax.
Hachimura is in the final season of his three-year Lakers deal, which carried an $18.2 million cap hit. If he lands on the open market, he’ll likely be looking for a yearly salary in that neighborhood, and his track record suggests he’d earn it. The 6-foot-8 Gonzaga product checks the boxes San Antonio needs: shooting, size, and enough defensive competence to stay on the floor.
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