Report: New suitor emerges targeting Lakers' key free-agent duo

For the Los Angeles Lakers, free agency can't begin fast enough. It feels like multiple times each week that a new team shows some level of interest in the two players Rob Pelinka has circled in permanent marker.

While the Lakers appear to still be the favorites to re-sign Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura this offseason, there has certainly been no shortage of interest brewing around the league. Both Reaves and Hachimura could and should have a high level of interest once free agency begins, as the duo played a key role for the Lakers both late in the season and during their postseason run to the Western Conference Finals.

The latest team to jump into the mix is reportedly the Houston Rockets, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle revealed.

"According to a person with knowledge of their thinking, they have interest in the Bucks’ Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, the Nuggets’ Bruce Brown, the Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson, the Lakers’ Rui Hachimura and Austin Reeves, the Nets' Cam Johnson, the Warriors’ Donte DiVincenzo, the Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks, the Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl and the Mavericks’ Dwight Powell. Media reports have tied them to James Harden and Fred VanVleet."

While that's a long list of potential free agents to target, it's tough to envision that the Rockets will be the only team to hit the ground running in pursuit of Reaves and Hachimura. How free agency plays out is going to be interesting for the Lakers, especially considering the way it appears they'll approach things after (to this point) opting against the option of acquiring a star via trade.

Barring a drastic change, the Lakers should be able to retain both Reaves and Hachimura while approaching free agency with a focus on adding more depth and specific types of role players next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.