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Another season awaits the\u00a0LA Lakers<\/strong>\u00a0and former NBA player\u00a0Patrick Beverley\u00a0has some advice for one of their players.<\/p>\n The two-way point guard sees forward Rui Hachimura as the “X-factor” of the team next season. Beverley pointed out that Hachimura should step up given that he re-signed with the team on a three-year, $51 million contract in September 2023.<\/p>\n The Japanese star is the fifth-highest-paid player on the team and Beverley has high expectations. Last season, the forward averaged 13.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists.<\/p>\n In a clip from his podcast, the “Pat Bev Pod,” Beverley talked about why he thinks the former Washington Wizards forward should take on a bigger role.<\/p>\n “Rui. He a good basketball player. But I don’t–he’s not the x-factor to me,” Beverley said. “Actually, you know what, he should be the x-factor because he gets paid as the x-factor should be. So yeah, f**k it, we gon’ put him x-factor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “He needs to do more. He has to come in like, ‘I’m the second option.’ His mindset has to be, ‘It\u2019s AD here, it\u2019s LeBron here, it\u2019s Austin Reaves here, it\u2019s DLo here but nah. AD gettin it, i\u2019m the second option.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Beverley compared Hachimura to Kyle Kuzma, their starting forward during the 2020 title run.<\/p>\n “What made them successful that Bubble Year, Kyle Kuzma. A wing with size that can put the ball on the floor, and people used to clown Kuzma because he used to take some tough shots but you need some balls like that. Because the same shot you take in the regular season that look tought is the same shot you go take at the end of the game.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n