Pacers, Pelicans, Grizzlies named top landing spots for $51 million Lakers history-making forward
The Los Angeles Lakers' valuable 28-year-old forward was recently linked to the Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Memphis Grizzlies.
Pacers, Pelicans, Grizzlies named top landing spots for $51 million Lakers history-making forward originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Los Angeles Lakers ’ 2025-26 campaign didn’t go as planned.
A championship was always going to be a long shot due to Los Angeles’ noticeable perimeter and frontcourt flaws. However, a Western Conference Finals appearance wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, depending on their playoff matchups, of course. As we all know, though, that’s not how things played out for the 17-time NBA champions, as the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated them in the second round of the playoffs.
While the Lakers’ 4-0 series loss to the defending champions was deflating, there was one particular bright spot for the franchise in the postseason. Rui Hachimura was phenomenal from beyond the arc, shooting 56. 9% in 10 contests with the Lakers.
The Gonzaga product now holds the highest career three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs when attempting 100+ three pointers (51. 6%). In ClutchPoints’ Bailey Bassett’s opinion , the Indiana Pacers , New Orleans Pelicans , and Memphis Grizzlies could be the biggest threat to poach Hachimura, who’s slated to be a free agent, from Los Angeles this summer.