Rui Hachimura’s move across town has already put him under a brighter spotlight, and Ty Lue is making the ask plain: he wants more from the new LA Clippers forward.
Hachimura, who spent three seasons with the LA Lakers before signing a two-year, $28 million deal with the Clippers in the offseason, is now part of a team trying to chart a path forward after the Kawhi Leonard years. With draft-pick restrictions hanging over the franchise, the Clippers’ swing on free agents like Hachimura is a major piece of their plan.
That makes every early impression matter, and Hachimura got off to a solid start in preseason with 16 points and five assists in a 122-110 win over the Denver Nuggets. Still, Lue isn’t satisfied yet. Via Justin Russo, he said he wants Hachimura to be “more assertive” and to pull down “seven or eight” rebounds a night.
That’s the part that got Lakers fans talking.
Hachimura is listed at 6’8″, but rebounding has never been his calling card. Last season, he topped seven rebounds only twice, finishing with 10 boards against the Jazz and eight against the Mavericks. His career high is 14 rebounds, set back in 2024.
So when Lue’s rebounding target surfaced, the reaction from Lakers fans came fast. One wrote: “Rui?!?! We tried that throughout his run with the Lakers never gonna happen.”
“If he could do this Pelinka would’ve paid him,” added another.
A third chimed in: “Love Rui but how are we gonna tell you.”
Hachimura, for his part, sounded willing to take on the challenge. In a locker room interview with Farnod Esnaashari, he said rebounding has already been stressed internally.
“Yeah, I just gotta go get it… We need rebounds. It’s the first thing we talked about with the coaching staff.”
Now it’s on Hachimura to see if he can deliver on the demand.
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