{"id":572942,"date":"2026-01-31T13:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T13:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/572942\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T13:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T13:09:16","slug":"the-lakers-should-do-this-to-make-deandre-hunter-trade-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/572942\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lakers Should Do This To Make De’Andre Hunter Trade Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> are currently in hot pursuit of De\u2019Andre Hunter,<\/a> but they should not complete the deal if it includes Rui Hachimura.<\/a> If they plan to contend for a championship, they should not make this lateral move.<\/p>\n

The Lakers Should Not Include Rui Hachimura In De\u2019Andre Hunter Trade
\n\"DecDec 25, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) moves to the basket against Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The trade deadline is less than a week away, and the Lakers remain active on the trade market. To address their need for a two-way wing, they have turned to De\u2019Andre Hunter. A Cavs insider has revealed the details of their trade offer.<\/p>\n

Trade Framework<\/p>\n

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported<\/a> that the Lakers and Cavaliers have discussed a general framework. The deal would send Hunter to Los Angeles. The package would involve Hachimura and Dalton Knecht.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMy sources tell me that the Cavs and the Lakers have discussed a general framework surrounding De\u2019Andre Hunter, Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht, and then bringing in a third team,\u201d Fedor said.<\/p>\n

The proposed trade:<\/p>\n

Lakers receive: De\u2019Andre Hunter
Cavaliers receive: Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht<\/p>\n

Why Hunter Is On The List<\/p>\n

The Lakers own a borderline bottom-five defense. Their defensive issues stem from struggles containing wings and guards. As a result, a two-way wing has topped their shopping list all season. Hunter sits high on that list.<\/p>\n

It is no surprise they have settled on Hunter for several reasons. His 6-foot-8 frame and 7-foot-2 wingspan fit their needs on paper. Over the four seasons before this one, he shot 38 percent from three. He did so on solid volume, at five attempts per game.<\/p>\n

This season, Hunter has struggled to replicate that form. This is his lowest scoring output in four seasons. He averages 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists. The emergence of Jaylon Tyson<\/a> has made him more expendable in Cleveland. That alone should make the Lakers wary. Still, Hunter\u2019s fit in Redick\u2019s system remains appealing.<\/p>\n

Why Rui Should Not Be Included<\/p>\n

De\u2019Andre Hunter on the Lakers makes sense, even if Rui Hachimura enters trade talks. But losing Rui creates new problems. Rui is the team\u2019s best three-point shooter. He shoots 43.3 percent from deep. That mark sits at least six points higher than any other starter.<\/p>\n

Hunter shoots a poor 30 percent from three. A closer look shows a different story with volume. Hunter makes 1.7 threes per game. Hachimura makes 1.8, despite higher accuracy. Hunter closes the gap through volume.<\/p>\n

The Lakers already shoot threes at the eighth-worst rate in the league. Losing Rui\u2019s shooting should not be an option. Cleveland values expiring contracts because they are trying to duck the second apron. The Lakers could persuade them to trade De\u2019Andre Hunter without losing Rui Hachimura. This trade must avoid becoming a lateral move for Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Credit:\u00a9 David Richard-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Lakers are currently in hot pursuit of De\u2019Andre Hunter, but they should not complete the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572943,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[8218,7,1250,1219,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6,1012],"class_list":{"0":"post-572942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-2025-26-nba-season","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-dalton-knecht","11":"tag-deandre-hunter","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-la-lakers","14":"tag-lakers","15":"tag-lalakers","16":"tag-los-angeles","17":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","18":"tag-losangeles","19":"tag-losangeleslakers","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-rui-hachimura"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115989878037120813","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}