It has been more than five months since the LA Lakers suffered a first-round exit in the 2025 NBA playoffs. However, power forward Rui Hachimura said on Wednesday that the loss still haunts the team.Speaking with reporters after practice on Wednesday, Hachimura said suffering the gentleman’s sweep against the Minnesota Timberwolves is still fresh in their minds.“It's still there,” Hachimura said. “That was our last game we played, so we think about it sometimes. But it is what it is.”At the same time, Rui Hachimura, who joined the LA team in 2023, emphasized the importance of moving forward.“We just got a new team, we have to have a different mindset coming out to new season,” Hachimura said. “I think we got better too, so we just got to build our chemistry and we're going from there.”The Timberwolves set the tone early with a 117-95 win in Game 1, but the Lakers answered back, taking Game 2 94-85. At that point, many felt the matchup was evenly balanced and that the series could easily stretch out.But from there on, Anthony Edwards and Co. were totally dominant. Minnesota won the next three games, each by an average margin of 7.3 points, and closed out the series 4-1.For Los Angeles, Luka Doncic emerged as its best performer, averaging 30.2 points along with 7.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists. Rui Hachimura also fulfilled his role, contributing with 14.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting a solid 49.1% from the field.Rui Hachimura doesn’t mind letting Marcus Smart take his spot in the starting lineupThe LA Lakers have already locked in four starters for the upcoming season. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will handle the backcourt duties, while Deandre Ayton is set to start at center. Whereas LeBron James will be one of the forwards.That leaves one forward spot open, and the competition is between Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura. Although Hachimura is considered the favorite, he has made it clear that he is comfortable with whatever role the team needs him to play.“I think it’s — for me — just whatever the team needs me to do, but we’ve been building the chemistry that I’ve been in the starting five for two, three years,” Hachimura said. “So whatever they decide I have to do, it’s just a matter of the chemistry, how we can build and we can be on the court together and how we can give an impact.”Coach JJ Redick is expected to experiment with different rotations during the preseason before finalizing the lineup he plans to stick with for the 2025-2026 season.