Washington – when the athlete The news broke Wednesday that Washington The Wizards began trade discussions to include fourth-year forward Rui Hachimurahe asked a simple question: Why would the Wizards want to trade someone they drafted at number nine in 2019?
On Saturday night, Hachimura himself appeared to shed some light on this question without saying so outright.
when the athlete Hashimura asked during a press conference in the Capital One Arena lobby if he had asked the Wizards for a deal, to which Hashimura replied, “No comment.”
Hachimura averages 24.3 minutes per game, the second lowest in his professional career. He did not start any of the 30 games he was healthy enough to play in, making this the first season of his professional career without a start.
On Saturday, Hachimura played one of the most productive matches of his career. In 30 minutes of playing time, he scored 30 points, tying his career high, to help the Wizards defeat Orlando Magic 138-118.
when the athlete Asked after the match if he wanted the Wizards to trade him, Hachimura paused for several seconds before replying, “I don’t know.”
The Wizards and Hachimura did not agree to a contract extension several months earlier at the end of the negotiation window for fourth-year rookies. This put Hachimura on track to become a restricted free agent if, as expected, he turns down a post-season qualifying offer. In restricted free agency, wizards or the team that wizards trade with Hachimura before NBA The February 9 trade deadline will have the right to match any offer Hachimura might sign from another team.
Averaging 13.0 points per game, Hachimura is a talented all-rounder who has improved his 3-point hitting over the past two years. But entering this season, His defense was a glaring weakness in his game. He’s made strides in that area, especially as a perimeter defender, said coach Wes Unseld Jr. before Saturday’s game.
On offense, Hachimura, who will turn 25 on February 8, tends to play with priming, often looking for his own shot at the expense of passing to teammates. Coming into Saturday, he’s assisted on 8.2 percent of his teammates’ shots while in the game, which puts him below average compared to other league tacklers, according to Cleaning the Glass, an advanced analytics database. His assist-to-use ratio ranks near the bottom of all forwards in the league, at the 12th percentile, per glass cleanup.
Earlier this season, Hachimura finished second on the depth chart at the power forward position Kyle Kuzma.
Hachimura missed 16 consecutive matches from mid-November to mid-December due to a bone bruise in his right ankle.
Shortly after Hachimura’s return from injury, Unseld began using two towers in the starting lineup Christapes Porzis in power forward and Daniel Gafford in the center, with Kuzma shifting to small forward. The new alignment reduced Hachimura’s minutes Denny Avdija. Hachimura’s trade would lessen Washington’s deadlock at the advanced points.
“I just want to be in a place that wants me as a basketball player, and I want to be in a place that loves my game, you know?” Hashimura said Saturday night. He later added, “I just want to be in a place where he trusts (and) believes in me and where I can be myself. That’s my goal.”
League sources said the athlete That Hashimura He caught the interest of several Western Conference teams in need of scoring.
When asked by a reporter if he felt this place was Washington, Hachimura replied, “I don’t know. We have to find out.”
(Top photo by Rui Hachimura: Brad Mills / USA Today)