Rob Pelinka says when the team is in contract talks with a player, they don’t talk about it publicly. The is was in response to a question about Rui being extension eligible. Sounds like those talks are ongoing. That would be noteworthy.— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) September 25, 2025
It will be interesting to see if the Lakers not only give Rui an extension but also move him to the bench so Marcus Smart can start. I would be in support of doing this. Rui is good enough to learn how to be a huge impact off the bench.
Rob cannot be trusted in extension talks.
Not that I disagree, but why do you say that?
Everybody he even gave 2 year deals to has come back to haunt the Lakers. Don’t even get me started on Vanderbilt.
Lakers are either doing one of two things, if this is true and happens:
1) Prepping a team that fits great around Luka and Rui fits the mold: switchable defender on the perimeter and down low, great on catch and shoot threes (40.8% over the last 2 seasons) and is a solid locker room dude. He can also generate his own offense out of the low post, although that aspect of basketball is generally frowned upon by the current masses. Not by me, love the low post game, modern game is too cookie cutter/boring for my tastes, but I hope it changes a bit back to understanding why the old school style still has a lot of value. Especially in the playoffs where you really would like to win more than you lose.
2) There’s are teams interested in acquiring him but don’t want to trade for a player who will be an URFA next season. I think Rui has shown solid growth since finding an NBA situation that he can succeed in. Not an alpha or even beta player but an above-average, possibly elite, role-player. Those aren’t easy to find, especially with his size and speed. After the playoffs I had Rui as being almost as untouchable as Reaves. Nothing has changed my stance on that. You better get back a player that you know will fit in better than Rui and not have any drawbacks to their game (like needing the ball in their hands to be effective).
I agree with everything you said Jamie. Rui also made a leap last year on D as well. H e often was assigned to Ant Man and he more than held his own. Ant Man didn’t have a good shooting series and part of that was Rui. Also star players rarely leave in free agency, because of the cap space involved. They are generally traded and if the Lakers truly want to chase one they will need tradable contracts.