The Los Angeles Lakers would consider trading Austin Reaves only for a clear upgrade, basketball reporter Jovan Buha said. He cited their refusal to include the guard in previous potential deals.
Speaking on his “Buha’s Block” podcast, the National Basketball Association (NBA) reporter described a consistently high threshold for moving Reaves.
According to Buha, Los Angeles had a chance to acquire Kyrie Irving but declined because it would have required giving up Reaves. He did not include the guard in the trade that brought Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
Buha cited other potential opportunities involving Dejounte Murray, Zach LaVine, De’Aaron Fox and Trae Young. In each case, he said the Lakers wouldn’t surrender Reaves for an All-Star-level return.
Replacing the guard involves more than finding another scorer, Buha argued. Los Angeles needs his ball-handling and playmaking alongside Doncic.
“You need to replace the ball-handling and the playmaking,” he said.
Without a replacement, Buha expects Doncic to carry more responsibility for directing the offence. Collin Sexton offers another option, but Buha sees him handling less of that workload.
Reaves signed a four-year, $180 million contract with Los Angeles over the summer after declining his $14.9 million player option.
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ESPN reported that the Detroit Pistons were interested in offering him a substantial free-agent contract. Reaves ultimately stayed with the Lakers.
The 28-year-old averaged 23.3 points per game last season, a career high. Across 51 appearances, he averaged 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.
(With additional input from BasketNews)
