Bullet point summary by AI

• The Los Angeles Clippers signed sharpshooting power forward Rui Hachimura to a two-year, $28 million deal in free agency.
• Hachimura’s ability to shoot from deep and switch on defense makes him a perfect fit for the Clippers’ projected starting lineup alongside Darius Garland and Brandon Ingram.
• The Clippers still face a major rebounding issue and will need to address this weakness to improve upon last season’s league-worst performance.

Despite making one of the most impactful trades of the offseason by sending Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors last week, the Los Angeles Clippers aren’t done reshaping their roster. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Clippers have signed former Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura to a two-year, $28 million deal in free agency. It should be noted that there was a failed sign-and-trade attempt prior to the signing, but the Lakers apparently didn’t want to play ball.

This is a solid value contract for a sharpshooter coming off an excellent playoff performance, and Hachimura can fit in well with the Clippers’ new-look lineup. L.A. might not be trying to contend for the first time during owner Steve Ballmer’s tenure, but they are making the right moves to retool so that they can get back into that conversation sooner rather than later.

Based on his resume and the players around him, it’s safe to assume that Hachimura will be a starter this upcoming season. His ability to shoot the ball, averaging 11.3 points and 3.3 rebounds on 44.3 percent from the 3-point line, will help make the Clippers ‘ offense more problematic for opposing defenses

Rui Hachimura brings a different dimension to the new-look Clippers

Hachimura slides nicely into this starting five, not only has a floor spacer but also as a switchable defender. While he can create his own offense, he won’t be asked to do so with Darius Garland running the point and Brandon Ingram as the primary scoring option on the wing. And outside of Garland, this lineup also offers positional size on defense.

However, there is going to be one major problem that the Clippers are going to have to rectify with this current roster. Last season, they were 29th in total rebounds per game, and they have done nothing to address this issue over the offseason.

The center position is especially weak in this area, as Brook Lopez is near the end of his career and only averaged 3.6 rebounds last season. Isaiah Jackson is only 6-foot-8 and averaged 4.6 rebounds in 2025-26. Yanic Konan Niederhauser might have room for growth in his second season, but he’s still pretty young and raw in terms of his skill set — and even if he works out, he won’t be able to fix the problem by himself. The addition of Hachimura isn’t going to help with that either, especially based on his previously mentioned rebounding averages.

Does the signing of Hachimura change the Clippers’ ceiling?

While there are more pros than cons with the addition of Hachimura in free agency, it won’t be a major change to the Clippers’ outlook this upcoming season. He’s not a star player; at best, he’s a star role player who has one major weakness as a rebounder, which doesn’t help with the team’s biggest issue.

In a Western Conference where there are plenty of teams that want to be in the playoffs, the Clippers simply haven’t improved enough this offseason. Trading Leonard was a major step back in the short term. Despite the acquisition of Ingram, Los Angeles doesn’t have the star power to compete in the West. Honestly, the Clippers should be looked at as a seller of the remaining veteran pieces on this roster when the NBA trade deadline does come around next season.