Rui Hachimura's Surprising Move to the Clippers Amid NBA Chaos
The NBA dropped the hammer on the L.A. Clippers, and the shockwaves have rolled straight across the city.
Five future first-round picks gone. A fine for Kawhi Leonard. A fine and suspension for Steve Ballmer. A franchise that had spent years selling itself as the smarter, sharper operation in Los Angeles suddenly looks exposed, its long-term plan shredded by a historic punishment for salary cap circumvention.
And caught in the middle of the wreckage is Rui Hachimura.
A Cross-Town Move Under the Microscope
When Hachimura left the Lakers in free agency, it wasn’t exactly a messy divorce. But it was surprising. At 28, coming off a strong run in purple and gold, he chose the Clippers on a two-year, $28 million deal, with a team option on the second season. Same money he could have had elsewhere. Less security.
He chose comfort. He chose Los Angeles.
Now the question being tossed around the league is simple and brutal: does he wish he hadn’t?
On X, San Antonio Spurs analyst Dusty Garza put a spotlight on the decision. He revealed that the Spurs had called Hachimura in July, ready to put him next to Victor Wembanyama on a roster stacked with draft capital and long-term promise, offering the full midlevel exception.
Same $28 million over two years. But in San Antonio, it would have been guaranteed. No team option. No “we’ll see” after one season.
Garza wrote that the Spurs pivoted to Tobias Harris the moment they sensed hesitation from Hachimura’s camp. San Antonio wanted him. They moved on when he waffled. Hachimura stayed in L.A. with the Clippers, and the league just detonated their future.
Today, it looks like the safer bet was in Texas, not across the hallway at Crypto.com Arena.
Spurs Interest, But Only to a Point
There’s another layer. NBA insider Brett Siegel reported earlier in the offseason that, despite the Spurs being floated as a possible landing spot, Hachimura was never viewed internally as a realistic long-term piece.
San Antonio spoke with his representatives, but their priority was clear: short-term experience and veteran leadership, not a bigger, longer commitment. That’s why Harris, not Hachimura, topped their board. Once they sensed the hesitation and weighed what they really wanted, their interest cooled.
So yes, the Spurs called. Yes, they had a path for him. But they were also ready to move on quickly—and did.
Still, when you stack it up now, with the Clippers stripped of picks and staring at an uncertain future, that brief Spurs window looks a lot more appealing than it did in July.
Did the Lakers Misjudge Their Own Guy?
Across the hall, the Lakers have their own regrets to sort through.
They watched Hachimura walk, then turned around and pushed hard for Jonathan Kuminga. It raised eyebrows. Hachimura is the more polished product right now, and one of the most efficient shooters from deep in the league.
Last season, he drilled 44.3 percent of his three-pointers, one of the top marks in the NBA, while averaging 11.5 points per game. When the lights brightened in the postseason, he didn’t blink—he scorched defenses, hitting 57 percent from beyond the arc and nearly 18 points a night. That’s not just “solid role player” territory. That’s game-shifting production.
He also fit. He had real chemistry with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and he brought a scoring profile the Lakers still haven’t fully replaced at the forward spot.
Now, as the Lakers continue to shuffle options at starting power forward, it’s hard to escape the obvious: they’d almost certainly be better today if Hachimura were still in their locker room.
A Decision That Won’t Go Away
Hachimura’s choice to stay in Los Angeles made sense in the moment. Same money. Same city. Familiar surroundings. A Clippers team that, on paper, still looked like a contender.
Then the investigation ended. The penalties landed. The Clippers’ future got a lot darker, very quickly.
He can’t change the contract he signed, and there’s no public indication he’s second-guessing it. But the league is asking the question for him: with the Spurs rising, the Lakers searching, and the Clippers suddenly crippled by punishment, how long before this becomes one of the defining what-ifs of his career?
