5 Potential Lakers free agent targets with ties to Rob Pelinka

Buddy Hield

Over the past two seasons, few players have been as consistently linked to the Los Angeles Lakers as Buddy Hield. A career 40.0 percent shooter from beyond the arc, many have hypothesized that Hield could be the missing piece as far as spacing the floor is concerned.

The Lakers will have another chance to acquire Hield, a former Rob Pelinka client, as he enters unrestricted free agency this summer.

Hield signing for the Mid-Level Exception seems unlikely, as he would be settling for a low-cost, one-year deal at a time when he could sign a multi-year contract. His stint with the Philadelphia 76ers was rather underwhelming, however, and Daryl Morey doesn't seem keen on re-signing the 31-year-old.

If Hield ultimately hits free agency and searches for a new team, Pelinka could try to call in a favor and sign his former client for below market value.

The odds of this transpiring are still rather weak, as this class of free agents is top-heavy enough for Hield to receive a bigger paycheck. He would be an interesting fit with the Lakers, however, as an elite three-point shooter who could play a relatively featured role in terms of plays being run for him.

Los Angeles ranking 24th in three-point field goals made clearly necessitates the addition of sharpshooting wings, and Hield would fit that bill.