Rui switches sides: Clippers poach Hachimura from the Lakers
In a rare intra-city raid, the Clippers signed Rui Hachimura to a two-year, $28M deal, pulling him across town from the Lakers — and they’re not done, with Peyton Watson still in their sights.
Good morning! Free agency turned into a crosstown tug-of-war over the weekend: the Clippers used their mid-level exception to sign Rui Hachimura to a two-year, $28 million deal, prying him from the Lakers — and they’re still chasing Denver’s Peyton Watson. The bigger event, though, is happening today. In Seattle, FIFA lifted Folarin Balogun’s red-card ban, clearing the USMNT’s leading scorer for its biggest match of the tournament, a Round-of-16 meeting with Belgium. And on a heavier note, Dodgers rookie Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. made his MLB debut hours after a family tragedy, and got an ovation Dodger Stadium won’t forget. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏀 Crosstown raid. The Clippers sign Rui Hachimura to a two-year, $28M deal, pulling the forward across L.A. from the Lakers — who lose another rotation piece — Grant Mona reports.
⚽ Balogun cleared. FIFA suspends his red-card ban, freeing the USMNT’s leading scorer to face Belgium today in the Round of 16 at Lumen Field — Zach Cavanagh in Seattle.
⚾ A debut beyond baseball. Dodgers rookie Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. takes the field hours after a family tragedy and receives a standing ovation — Fredo Cervantes at Dodger Stadium.
⚾ Machado ends the skid. A three-run homer lifts the Padres past the Dodgers 5-2, salvaging the finale and snapping a five-game slide — Eric Evelhoch at Dodger Stadium.
🏀 Fatigue catches the Aces. Short-handed without A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas falls 84-68 to the Fever at T-Mobile Arena — Derek Hegna in Las Vegas.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — WEEKEND
🏀 NBA (free agency): Clippers sign Rui Hachimura (2 yr, $28M) · Lakers lose Hachimura
⚾ MLB (Sun): Padres 5, Dodgers 2 · Red Sox 7, Angels 5
🏀 WNBA: Fever 84, Aces 68
⚽ NWSL: San Diego Wave 2, Gotham FC 0
🏀 A CROSSTOWN POWER PLAY
It doesn’t happen often that a player crosses Los Angeles from one locker room to the other, but that’s exactly what Rui Hachimura did. The Clippers agreed to a two-year, $28 million deal — through their mid-level exception, with a team option in year two — to pull the forward away from the Lakers just days into free agency, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. Hachimura spent three and a half seasons in purple and gold, and now joins a Clippers team rebuilding on the fly after trading Kawhi Leonard.
The fit is clean. The Clippers came into the summer with Derrick Jones Jr. as their only real option at power forward, and Hachimura gives them size and shooting that doesn’t need the ball — a natural complement to a Darius Garland–Brandon Ingram backcourt that wants the floor spread. He averaged 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 68 games last season and owns one of the best playoff three-point strokes in recent Lakers history.
The Clippers aren’t finished. They remain in pursuit of Denver’s Peyton Watson, a restricted free agent coming off a breakout year, with a possible sign-and-trade using Jones Jr. as the piece — a move that would let them add Watson without a logjam. For a team that went 42-40 and lost in the play-in, landing both would be a statement. For the Lakers, it’s another rotation player gone as the Luka Dončić era is built from the studs up.
GO DEEPER
› Grant Mona: Clippers sign Rui Hachimura to a two-year deal, still chasing Peyton Watson (The Sporting Tribune)
› Carlos Yakimowich: Lakers lose Rui Hachimura to the Clippers on a two-year, $28M deal (The Sporting Tribune)
⚽ THE USMNT’S BIGGEST DAY — AND BALOGUN WILL PLAY
The United States plays the biggest match of its tournament today, and it will do so with its leading scorer on the field. FIFA suspended the one-game red-card ban Folarin Balogun picked up against Bosnia, clearing him for the Round of 16 against Belgium at Lumen Field. Balogun — three goals, most on the U.S. — was sent off on video review by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus for a 64th-minute foul, becoming the first player to both score and see red in a World Cup knockout match since Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 final. FIFA held the ban off for a one-year probationary period, the same treatment it gave Cristiano Ronaldo before the tournament; with no appeal available under its rules, U.S. Soccer accepted the ruling. “For me? Never a red card,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said. Balogun called the challenge “totally unintentional.”
TST columnist Steve Carp, on the ground in Seattle, argues the whole saga was avoidable — a yellow card does the job, and nobody debates FIFA politics for a week. The Belgian federation said it was reviewing “all its options” after the reversal, and the decision drew attention that, by Carp’s account, reached the White House. The on-field truth is simpler: Balogun stretches a defense and should free up Christian Pulisic, who managed just two touches against Bosnia. Win, and the Americans come home to SoFi Stadium on Friday for a quarterfinal against the winner of Spain–Portugal. The two sides carry knockout history — Tim Howard’s record 16-save night in a 2-1 extra-time loss to Belgium in 2014.
GO DEEPER
› Zach Cavanagh (Seattle): Balogun available vs. Belgium after his red-card ban is suspended (The Sporting Tribune)
› Steve Carp (Seattle): The Balogun controversy could’ve been avoided (The Sporting Tribune)
⚾ A DEBUT THAT TRANSCENDED THE BOX SCORE
Some nights, the final score is the least important thing that happens at the ballpark. Sunday was one of them. Hours before first pitch, Dodgers rookie catcher Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. learned that his stepmother and his 16-year-old sister, Elaina, had been found dead after a hotel collapsed in the earthquake that devastated Venezuela. His name stayed on the lineup card anyway.
When the public-address announcer introduced him for his major league debut, Dodger Stadium rose as one — an ovation that acknowledged unimaginable grief while honoring a dream that somehow still arrived. Alfonzo, 26, who had hit .313 at Triple-A Oklahoma City, went 0-for-2 before being lifted in the seventh. The line will vanish into a season of box scores. The moment won’t. “I wish she was alive to watch me playing in the big leagues,” he said of his sister, who three weeks earlier had told him she’d had “a beautiful dream” she wouldn’t explain until it came true.
“Our hearts break for him,” Dave Roberts said. “We’re going to be here to support him in any way we can.” The Padres won the game 5-2. It was, by a distance, the smallest story of the night.
› Fredo Cervantes: Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. makes his MLB debut hours after family tragedy (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏀 THE ACES RUN OUT OF GAS IN VEGAS
The A’ja Wilson absence is starting to bite. A night after grinding out an overtime win over the Sky, a short-handed Las Vegas ran out of legs and fell 84-68 to the Fever at T-Mobile Arena. With Wilson sidelined, the Aces have leaned hard on Jackie Young and Jewell Loyd, and the fatigue showed in a lopsided second half. Derek Hegna breaks down how long Vegas can tread water until its cornerstone returns — and what it means for a title-contending season.
› Derek Hegna: Fatigue hits the Aces hard in a loss to the Fever as Wilson’s absence looms large (The Sporting Tribune)
⚽ A SAN DIEGO ROCKET
Down the coast, San Diego’s pro soccer scene keeps giving. Homegrown Melanie Barcenas struck a stunner to power the San Diego Wave past NWSL powerhouse Gotham FC 2-0 at Snapdragon Stadium — a signature result for a Wave side rebuilding its identity, and a reminder that the region’s sports story runs well beyond the Padres.
› Sebastian Sanchez: Melanie Barcenas’s rocket powers the San Diego Wave past Gotham FC (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — MONDAY, JULY 6
⚽ World Cup: USMNT vs. Belgium — FOX — 5:00 p.m. PT
🏀 WNBA: Storm at Sparks — Spectrum — 7:00 p.m. PT
⚾ MLB: Rockies at Dodgers — SNLA — 7:00 p.m. PT
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME TODAY?
Get-in prices across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
⚽ World Cup: USMNT vs. Belgium — Lumen Fiekd — $1,776
🏀 WNBA: Storm at Sparks — Spectrum — $12
⚾ MLB: Rockies at Dodgers — SNLA — $52
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Rui Hachimura became the rare player to switch directly between the Lakers and Clippers. He originally entered the NBA as a 2019 first-round pick of which team?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode digs into the crosstown free-agency raid — Rui to the Clippers, the Lakers’ next move, and the Peyton Watson chase — honors an unforgettable Dodger Stadium debut, and previews USMNT–Belgium in the Round of 16. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii via Westwood One Sports.
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Trivia answer: The Washington Wizards. Hachimura was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Gonzaga before a 2023 trade sent him to the Lakers — and now, to the Clippers.
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