Rui Hachimura had options when free agency opened this summer, and one Spurs reporter thinks the choice he made with the Clippers might already be looking rough.
Hachimura, who previously played for the Los Angeles Lakers, was also on the radar of the San Antonio Spurs. According to the report, San Antonio offered him the full mid-level exception and a chance to start, with the idea of pairing him next to Victor Wembanyama on a team built around plenty of draft capital and a bright future.
But Hachimura stayed in Los Angeles and signed with the Clippers on what was described as the same money: 2 years, $28M. The deal also includes a second-year team option.
“Watching the Clippers implode today, you have to wonder if Rui Hachimura regrets his July free agency choice,” Garza wrote on X.
“The Spurs called him with the full (midlevel exception) to put him next to (Victor Wembanyama) on a contender with plenty of draft capital and a bright future but instead, he took the exact same money (2 years, $28M) to stay in LA with the Clippers (except the deal he took features a second-year team option. Ouch!) The Spurs immediately pivoted and signed Tobias Harris when they heard him waffling.”
Hachimura may simply have wanted to remain in Los Angeles, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It was his decision to make. Still, the Spurs’ pitch appears to have offered a cleaner basketball fit, along with a better immediate path to winning.
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