The Los Angeles Lakers clearly need a significant influx of talent to level up toward realistic championship contention this season before February 8th comes and goes. Lacking high-value tradable draft picks and intriguing young talent compared to most other buyers at the trade deadline, though, odds are definitely against the purple-and-gold making the major splash or two needed to compete with the defending-champion Denver Nuggets and other top-tier title contenders in 20224.
Unless, of course, the Lakers decide to fully commit to the preset and put Austin Reaves on the block as the prospective centerpiece of a blockbuster trade. Just don't hold your breath waiting for management to reverse course on Reaves' current status. As trade season heats up, Los Angeles is still treating the fan-favorite third-year guard as something close to “untouchable,” according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
“Reaves isn’t technically untouchable, but he’s close. The Lakers value him highly and have no interest in trading him, according to team and league sources,” Buha reported on Friday. “He’s on a cost-controlled, team-friendly deal for at least two more seasons. For the Lakers to consider moving Reaves, they’d need to receive either a clear-cut All-Star — someone better than Murray or LaVine, for example — or multiple rotation upgrades, according to those sources.”
Should Lakers entertain trading Austin Reaves before deadline?
Reaves certainly isn't solely culpable for the Lakers' abject mediocrity this season. A rash of injuries to the supporting cast has prevented Los Angeles from develop the continuity and cohesion it relied on during last year's run to the Western Conference Finals, and Darvin Ham has done his team no favors with some truly vexing starting lineup and rotational decisions—including shifting Reaves to the bench barely a week into the regular season.
Still, it's undeniable that Reaves hasn't quite lived up to expectations in wake of his standout performance during his postseason debut. Most disappointing has been his long-range jumper. After blazing nets to the tune of 44.3% shooting from deep on career-high volume in the playoffs last season, Reaves is currently shooting just 35.1% on triples, slightly below league average. He's not faring any better or worse on catch-and-shoot chances than pull-up tries, either, a damning indictment of his effectiveness stretching defenses while playing off-ball next to LeBron James.
Just as big a problem for Reaves has been opposing teams realizing he can be exploited defensively. He was a flashing red target on that side of the ball with Team USA this summer during the Americans' dispiriting performance at the FIBA World Cup, a development coaches across the league clearly took note of before the season tipped off. It's been more difficult than ever for Ham to slot D'Angelo Russell alongside Reaves in the backcourt as a result, only compounding Los Angeles' more systemic issues on the offensive side of the ball.
Reaves is 25, in the middle of his third NBA go-around with at least some room to improve going forward. He projects as a dynamic, impactful third guard on a good team going forward at the very least, and his contract close to a bargain. Any confident notion before 2023-24 tipped off that Reaves' ceiling reaches All-Star status has almost completely vanished halfway through the 82-game grind, though.
That unfortunate reality in mind, why wouldn't Ron Pelinka and the Lakers' front office make him readily available via trade? James, remember, can be a free agent this summer, and Anthony Davis also isn't getting any younger. Los Angeles' championship window is far from open wide open at the moment, but could still be letting in more Pacific seabreeze now than at any point in the foreseeable future.
Winning another title before James retires or moves on should be the Lakers' utmost priority. Their only chance to do so this season is a truly team-altering trade deadline, a longshot prospect in any scenario that seems downright impossible unless they're prepared to moves Reaves over the next three weeks.
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