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Rui Hachimura on leaving the Lakers: 'It was them'
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- Rui Hachimura on leaving the Lakers: 'It was them'
Rui Hachimura was one of several starters and rotation players for the Los Angeles Lakers who left this summer. He had played a key role for them for three and a half seasons, and during that time, he worked hard to become one of the NBA's deadliest 3-point shooters.
There were reports in July that he wanted to stay with the Lakers, but in the end, he signed a two-year, $28 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers . Just like that, the forward went from a team that has been looking to become a championship contender to one that is expected to be one of the weakest in the NBA.
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The two teams have already played each other twice this season, with the Lakers winning both contests. While Hachimura seems to still have good relations with his former Lakers teammates, he doesn't seem to have the best feelings about his departure from the Purple and Gold.
He talked to Khobi Price of the California Post about going from the Lakers to the Clippers in July.
"It was tough," Hachimura told The Post about his free agency. "That's my second free agency. Of course I was trying to get the extension from [the Lakers]. It didn't work out, but it is what it is. We have to move on at some point."
While there was apparently mutual interest between Hachimura and the Lakers, he reportedly didn't even know if they offered him a new contract this summer. He said that the organization is to blame for him not sticking around.
"It's on them," he responded to The Post when asked what led to his departure from the Lakers. "It wasn't me. It was them."
During his time with the Lakers, the Japanese native averaged 12.3 points and shot 51.6% from the field and 41.5% from 3-point range. He had a number of big scoring outings in the playoffs, to the point where he's currently the NBA's leader in career 3-point accuracy at 51.6%.
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He didn't play on Wednesday when the Lakers defeated the Clippers 103-87 due to left quad soreness. In three games this season, he's averaging 10.3 points a contest but is shooting just 26.3% overall.
This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: Rui Hachimura on leaving the Lakers: 'It was them'
