On Wednesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers' 2024-25 season came to an end with a home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first round playoff series. Several Lakers players struggled in this matchup, including shooting guard Austin Reaves, who looked like a shell of his regular season self for the most part this series.

On Thursday, the Lakers held end of season interviews, and general manager Rob Pelinka reiterated his belief in the core of Reaves alongside LeBron James and Luka Doncic despite the rough showing.

“The level of confidence in Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic is at an all-time high still, so no change in how we feel about those three guys,” said Pelinka, per Mark Medina on X.

Reaves struggled mightily to create separation on offense against the Timberwolves' lengthy and athletic perimeter defenders, and the defensive side of the ball was even worse for a player who has always had challenges on that end of the floor.

Coming out of this series, there are legitimate questions as to whether or not Reaves' skillset may be redundant alongside James and Doncic, and if the Lakers might be open to exploring a trade in order to address an area of need (most notably in the frontcourt).

However, Pelinka appears to have shut down that speculation with his latest remarks.

A tough loss for the Lakers

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The Lakers' trade for Luka Doncic was more about the future than it was about contention in the 2024-25 season, but that still doesn't take away from how disappointing the team's showing was in the first round against Minnesota.

Teams with two superstars the caliber of James and Doncic generally find their way to at least the conference finals, regardless of deficiencies on other areas of the roster.

However, the Lakers' lack of frontcourt depth, combined with their general absence of speed and athleticism, was thoroughly exposed by a Timberwolves team that looked much like the squad that made the Western Conference Finals a year ago.

While Reaves, James, and Doncic may not be on the move, expect the Lakers to make some big changes this summer.