Pacers, Pelicans, Grizzlies named top landing spots for $51 million Lakers history-making forward

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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.

The Lakers would likely like to keep Hachimura in the equation this summer, given his remarkable emergence as a formidable long-range shooting threat (he shot 29.6% from deep in his first season with Los Angeles and has connected on at least 41.3% of his triples since).

However, it’s unlikely he’ll be a priority this summer, with the Lakers working overtime to retain Austin Reaves and other free agents they view positively.

The Pacers, Pelicans, and Grizzlies could certainly use Hachimura’s assistance, as all three struggling organizations shot below 36% from three-point land this season and must bolster that aspect in 2026-27 to have any chance of righting their wrongs.

If one thing’s clear, it’s that Hachimura’s future with the Lakers is up in the air.

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