The two players were previously teammates with the Washington Wizards.
With the addition of power forward Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster, LA reserve guard Russell Westbrook has now been surrounded with three former Washington Wizards teammates, with Hachimura, Thomas Bryant and Troy Brown Jr. all former comrades during Brodie’s lone year in D.C.
When asked by reporters about Hachimura’s fit on Tuesday, the night before the 6’8″ combo forward would make his promising Lakers debut, Westbrook was effusive in his praise:
“First of all, Rui’s just a great human, great person. We connected a lot in D.C. And [I’m happy to be] back with him,” Westbrook said. “Rui’s [the] kind of talent that can fit in anywhere. Just happy that he’s here and I get a chance to play alongside him again.”
“He’s a guy that [doesn’t] get a lot of credit, but he’s a hell of a scorer, great hands, can shoot the ball really well, can guard any position on the floor, big body. I’ve seen him do great things and I’m just excited to able to see him do it here. Given the opportunity he can be successful here.”
Hachimura, 24, is a restricted free agent this summer, and seems likely to be retained by LA in the offseason should he perform well down the home stretch of 2022-23.
