When asked about that upcoming free agent process on ESPN’s “Hoop Streams” before Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night, Hachimura made it clear he was appreciative of his time in purple and gold but was noncommittal about a return (emphasis mine): “The reason why I requested the trade is that I wanted to be somewhere I could be happy and play basketball, that liked me as a basketball player, that believed in me, and the Lakers were one of the teams that was really interested in me. My agent and the team did a good job, and I went to the Lakers and it was a crazy season for me… Back at that time, we didn’t even know we were going to make the playoffs. So we made the playoffs and the playoff run was pretty good, we lost to Denver but it was pretty good for us. I don’t know my future but I just want to be somewhere I can be happy. The Lakers have been good and we’re going to see.”