Lakers might surprisingly trade for $20.6 million former UConn sharpshooter

The Los Angeles Lakers need more shooting, and GM Rob Pelinka will be closely monitoring the market’s options in the coming weeks.

Pelinka and the Lakers are savvy enough to know they should be open to acquisitions all over the salary spectrum, ranging from underrated and underpaid bucket-getters ( Cam Thomas , Lonnie Walker IV ) to the biggest fish available ( Brandon Ingram , Zach LaVine , Darius Garland ).

Los Angeles is interested in anyone who can be a reliable threat from three and score somewhere in the range of 17 to 22 points per game to take some pressure off LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

One unexpected rising star who the Lakers are likely to keep an eye on this season is New Orleans Pelicans shooting guard Jordan Hawkins, a former national champion at UConn under Dan Hurley.

The 22-year-old Hawkins has gotten off to a hot start to the season and is a sleeper Sixth Man of the Year candidate in just his second NBA season.

On Friday night, Hawkins led the Pelicans in scoring with 24 points on 4-for-7 from three to go along with five boards. He’s efficient and deadly from distance, making him the perfect kind of player to thrive on J.J. Redick’s Lakers.

The Pelicans are certainly aware of Hawkins’s value, even if the rest of the league hasn’t yet realized it. That’s exactly why New Orleans picked up the team option on the third year of Hawkins’s four-year $20.6 million rookie deal before the season.

The Pelicans wouldn’t let their Western Conference rival Lakers pry away Hawkins for cheap. New Orleans has a need at center and would likely demand former Pelican Jaxson Hayes in the trade for Hawkins, along with a valuable draft pick.

Hawkins’s fit in Lakerland would be immaculate. Will Pelinka prioritize Hawkins over some of the bigger-name trade candidates on the market?

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