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If it wasn’t clear before the Lakers made their flurry of moves on Wednesday morning, then it certainly is now.

Rui Hachimura will not be a Laker next season.

The writing was on the wall coming into free agency and Wednesday’s moves effectively made it impossible for the team to bring back Hachimura. The trade for Walker Kessler paired with the signings of Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton exhausted all of the Lakers’ spending power.

To make those deals official, the Lakers will have to renounce all their cap holds, which includes Hachimura’s. In doing so, it means the team can no longer go over the cap to sign him. And with no spending power and no ability to go over the cap, it means Hachimura won’t be in LA.

Even before Wednesday, the assumption from most was that Hachimura wouldn’t be back.

In their latest Substack piece late Tuesday night, Jake Fischer and Marc Stein called it “increasingly likely” Rui will leave the Lakers this summer.

Lakers free agent Rui Hachimura, Clippers free agent John Collins and Pistons free agent Tobias Harris are also known to be on San Antonio’s list. Hachimura, for that matter, is also believed to still be drawing interest from Brooklyn and Detroit and is regarded as increasingly likely to join James. Smart and Phoenix-bound Luke Kennard out the exit door in Lakerland.

Similarly, on his newest podcast episode on Wednesday morning, Zach Lowe made a passing comment that he believes Rui will be playing elsewhere next season.

“The Lakers now have a lot of cap space and how they use it is going to be very interesting and Luka Dončić is going to be watching it very carefully. Rui Hachimura is a free agent. I think he’s going to be on another team next year.”

All of that also aligns with reporting prior to the start of free agency. Dave McMenamin of ESPN said that Rui would likely be the “odd man out” for the Lakers and would have to find his deal somewhere else.

Having said all that, it’s unclear where he would go. Before free agency, reports linked him to the Nets and the Spurs. There were also some links to the Pistons, but their signing of John Collins on Wednesday morning almost certainly takes them out of that running.

The aforementioned Fischer and Stein report was about the Spurs, so he’s still on that list. However, that same report also said that San Antonio isn’t looking to give out more than a two-year deal on forwards this summer.

Free agency is a very fluid situation with lots of bluffing and negotiating, so things can change quickly. But barring some drastic late change, Rui’s time in LA is finished.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

The Walker Kessler saga is officially over, and so is his tenure in Utah. The Utah Jazz are sending Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers in a sign-and-trade for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus the right to swap first-round picks in 2028 and 2030.

The Lakers are paying Kessler $130 million over 4 years, which is about $32.5 million AAV. Additionally, his contract includes a player option on the fourth year, and a 15% trade kicker.

Kessler turns 25 years old in late July, and has averaged 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 assists in 25.3 minutes per game for his career, shooting 68.1% from the field. Ironically, Kessler arrived in Utah in the package for Rudy Gobert as the No. 22 overall pick in the 2022 draft. This Gobert trade has now amounted to six first-round picks, and three swaps (4 of the picks are still outstanding).

In his 4 seasons with Utah, he has been a great rebounder, rim protector, and lob threat around the rim. He flashed a hint of 3-point shooting early in the past season, making 6/8 before going out with shoulder surgery. However, any outside shooting is only theoretical, as he is a career 54.5% free throw shooter.

Los Angeles’ Perspective

Looking at the Lakers’ side of things, this fills a massive hole on their roster at the center position, which they tried to patch with Mark Williams and Deandre Ayton with little success. Kessler is the dominant rim protector, elite offensive rebounder, and finisher that a Dončić/Austin Reaves-led offense needs. Ayton will now have a much smaller role, off the bench, which better suits his skillset.

On the other hand, the Lakers have no tradable first-round picks over the next seven years, and have committed $475 million to Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler. Kessler is undoubtedly a great fit, but they are paying a steep price for a player that hasn’t proven himself on a high-stakes NBA stage.

Kessler has struggled with confidence finishing around the rim and playing through contact, especially in his sophomore year, which can’t happen on the Lakers. Los Angeles scrutiny will be on an entirely new level. Whether he’s fully grown past that is unclear, and it’s a real question when you’ve traded your remaining first-round picks for him.

Another concern worth considering is Kessler’s durability. He has only played 63 games in the past two seasons, and is coming off a surgery which repaired a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The labrum has been a years-long issue going back to his Auburn days that required surgery after repeated subluxing. I’m sure the Lakers looked into Walker’s medical records, but his health will be something to continue to monitor.

How much can a team giving that much money to those three players, without any flexibility, really win? We will see how they continue to round out their roster this offseason, but so far they have lost LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, and likely won’t be able to re-sign Rui Hachimura.

A Luka Dončić team needs shooting, perimeter defense, and solid bigs. Now they have a solid big in Kessler, but no flexibility to improve their shooting or perimeter defense.

Utah’s Perspective

For the Jazz, this is a bitter-sweet deal. On one hand, they recoup a lot of the draft capital they traded for Jaren Jackson Jr. and have more cap flexibility in the future. Utah already has significant money tied up in Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr, so signing Kessler to a $130 million deal would have squeezed their books even further.

Not paying Kessler gives the Jazz more flexibility to chase free agents this offseason, and to re-sign Keyonte George next summer. The picks they got in return are also valuable assets that could be used in a trade or win-now move.

However, as of today, this trade makes Utah a worse basketball team. Jusuf Nurkic is now the starting center unless more moves are made. JJJ could play some center minutes, but is a more natural powerforward. He plays best next to a rim-protecting center, which is what made his pairing with Walker Kessler so enticing. Now we never get to see what those two could have been together on defense.

While paying Kessler this contract would have been expensive, it’s surprising Utah didn’t just match the contract which was being reported all week.

I was personally bracing myself for the Jazz to match a Kessler contract worth $35+ million AAV, making it surprising that the Jazz didn’t just pay him the $32.5 million. The front office must have determined that these first-round picks are more valuable than Walker Kessler on that contract.

The Jazz have spent the last four seasons tanking for high lottery picks and collecting assets. After the JJJ trade and drafting Darryn Peterson, Utah seemed to be turning the page and making win-now moves. This Kessler deal doesn’t fit that narrative, but maybe it turns into a greater opportunity in the near future.

For a moment this offseason, it really seemed like Utah was building something rare. A frontcourt pairing of JJJ and Walker Kessler along with a dynamic offense is everything the Jazz needed to turn this rebuild around. It’s too bad we didn’t get to see this team play out.

As Kessler leaves, so does a big part of Utah’s defense, replaced by two first-round picks that won’t convey until the next decade. Utah got good value, but is that value worth downgrading the team? As of right now, it’s too early to determine who has won the trade. Whether this trade ages well for the Jazz will depend on what they do next.

July 10 Update: The Toronto Raptors have put their trade for Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard on hold pending the outcome of the NBA’s investigation of Leonard and the Clippers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Raptors issued an statement saying they would wait for the league’s findings before assuming any risk by completing the trade.

The Clippers, meanwhile, said the trade “can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation.”

The Knicks and Raptors haven’t been good at the same time very often. In the late ’90s, when the Knicks made regular appearances deep into the playoffs, the Raptors were a young expansion team getting their feet wet, focused on building a foundation and a fan base. When they started to take off and Vince Carter elevated them into one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks had begun what would become a decade-long spiral of suffering, losing, and ineptitude. In the 2010s, the Raptors won the ninth-most games in the NBA and captured an NBA championship. The Knicks, meanwhile, were busy failing to put together competent teams around Carmelo Anthony, only to fail to capitalize on Kristaps Porzingis’ breakout career.

The trend of at least one of the two franchises struggling will change this upcoming season, though. LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the only superstars expected to swap teams this offseason, but Kawhi Leonard has joined them in what has turned into a very fun offseason filled with surprising twists. With Leonard heading to Toronto, both teams will be good. Very good. But can the Raptors challenge the Knicks? And if so, are they the biggest threat in the conference?

The answer to the first question is yes. A defensive frontcourt consisting of Leonard, Scottie Barnes, and Collin Murray-Boyles has a very strong case to be the best in the league. That’s a very athletic and strong defensive trio with plenty of versatility, size, and length. No offense will enjoy playing against them. Even a Knicks team that solved the Victor Wembanyama problem that so many had struggled to answer will undoubtedly struggle at times.

This past season, while the Knicks dominated the season series against the Raptors, the latter held up defensively for much of each game. Adding one of the best defenders in the league to what was already a strong group while subtracting its weakest defender in Brandon Ingram makes them an immediate threat. Assuming they stay relatively healthy, it’s not unreasonable to expect them to be a top-three defense in the league alongside the Thunder and Spurs.

This trade also gives them a significant offensive upgrade. Ingram is no slouch as a scorer, but his shot profile isn’t an ideal one in today’s NBA. He is a 2000s-esque player who does a lot of his damage in the midrange and doesn’t get to the free-throw line much. While Leonard is just as deadly from the midrange, he gets to the line more frequently and is a much better, more willing three-point shooter. One of the areas where the Raptors struggled most last season was their lack of three-point shooting, particularly off the dribble.

On many nights, the Raptors simply lost the mathematical battle because opposing teams took and made significantly more outside shots. In fact, Leonard alone averaged 4.0 pull-up three-point attempts per game last season, while the Raptors averaged 4.9 per game as a team.

I’d also say that the answer to the second question is yes. Part of that is because the Raptors, for all the reasons mentioned above, are a much better team. But part of it is also due to how the offseason has unfolded for the other Eastern Conference teams. The Celtics may be losing Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White will be one year older and is coming off a poor shooting season. As they are currently constructed, I don’t think they have the defensive capability to slow down the Knicks.

The Boston Celtics have officially begun their work in free agency. 

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Boston has agreed to deals with veteran guard Mike Conley and center Mitchell Robinson. 

Conley is reportedly signing on a veteran minimum contract, while Robinson, fresh off an NBA championship with the New York Knicks, has landed a lucrative deal worth just over $15 million annually. The contract is reportedly for three years and includes a player option for the final season. While I don’t think it’s particularly likely, one detail worth monitoring is whether Robinson’s contract includes games-played incentives. We’ve seen this structure used before, most recently when the Portland Trail Blazers included similar incentives in old friend Robert Williams III’s extension to account for his injury history. 

One important aspect of the Robinson signing though is its financial impact on the Celtics. 

Boston used its non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Robinson, a move that automatically triggers a hard cap at the NBA’s first apron, set at approximately $209 million. When a team is hard capped, they are prohibited from exceeding that salary threshold for the remainder of the league year. 

As things stand right now with the additions of Conley and Robinson, Boston has all 15 standard contract roster spots filled and are $5.1 million under the first apron but now $3.5 million over the luxury tax.  

I am very curious if this means other moves, whether big or small, will come down the pipe eventually. The Celtics have traditionally preferred to carry an open roster spot into the regular season, giving themselves flexibility as the year unfolds. On top of that, we saw just how committed the front office was to managing its tax bill last season, making a flurry of deadline deals to duck below the luxury tax threshold. With Boston now operating under the first-apron hard cap, that same emphasis on financial flexibility could once again shape the team’s next moves. 

One name that consistently surfaces in salary-clearing discussions is Sam Hauser, who is set to earn $10.8 million this season. The more likely move, in my view, is parting ways with Dalano Banton to free up a roster spot. The Celtics exercised Banton’s team option before the deadline, but his salary remains non-guaranteed. That gives Boston the flexibility to waive him with minimal financial consequences if the front office decides it needs another opening on the 15-man roster. 

What cost saving moves do you think the Celtics should/will make if any?