The expectations for the Los Angeles Lakers often burn hot around this time of year. But especially this year after the offseason the team had.
Put it this way: If the Lakers are falling short of the standard around January, expect serious trade rumors to pick up. And yes, expect big names like Austin Reaves to get involved.
The Lakers handed Reaves a long-term deal in the offseason, securing the 28-year-old guard as superstar point guard Luka Doncic’s partner for the future. Doncic and Reaves are expected to lead the Lakers to the promised land as a star backcourt. But if L.A. fails to reach the level many expect, we know only one of the two would find himself in trade rumors. (Hint: It wouldn’t be the guy from Serbia.)
Proposed Trade Swaps Reaves for Recently-Signed Young Superstar
There have been some rumblings among fans about which player the Lakers could go after if they decided to trade Reaves. During a recent live-stream episode of Lakers reporter Jovan Buha’s podcast, “Buha’s Block,” one listener proposed a trade involving Reaves and young Houston Rockets star Amen Thompson.
“I mean, it’s an interesting trade,” Buha replied. “… I was asked about Ausar Thompson a couple of weeks ago, and the point I’ve made — I will continue to make — is my understanding of the Lakers’ viewpoint with Austin … Lakers could have had Kyrie if they were willing to give up Austin, and they said no. … The bar to trade Austin is high. On top of that, they just re-signed him.”
Continued Buha: “Where Amen is different than Ausar is that Amen is a ball-handler of a certain level and a passer of a certain level. … Amen is still a good-to-great defender, and you’re getting the motor, you’re getting the athleticism, you’re getting the rebounding, but you are also getting a certain level of ball-handling and passing that, no he’s not Austin, but he’s also much better than Ausar and he’s also much better than most guys with that skillset.”
The Bottom Line On a Potential Reaves Trade, According to Buha
Buha has maintained that the Lakers would only trade Reaves if a deal brought back a star player who is either equal to Reaves or fits better alongside Doncic.
“One other thing I’ve consistently said through the years with my understanding of how the Lakers view Austin is if they moved Austin, it is going to be for an upgrade, not going to be splitting him into multiple players. I think it would be Austin plus draft capital to get a better player, not Austin for two or three pieces,” Buha said in a previous episode.
Meanwhile, it is fair to question whether the Rockets, who signed Thompson to a five-year, $208 million rookie-max extension in the offseason, would trade their 23-year-old star for Reaves. While Reaves, who averaged a career-high 23.3 points per game last season, is arguably the better player right now, few would take the Lakers guard over Thompson’s massive upside.
Lakers Trade Pitch Lands Young $208M Superstar, No. 4 Pick for Austin Reaves