No player deserved a lucrative extension this summer more than Austin Reaves. His steady rise with every passing season for the Los Angeles Lakers has maintained his status as the second-most important core piece after Luka Doncic.
Reaves agreed to a four-year extension worth $180 million, which keeps him in L.A. until after the 2029-30 season. It followed months of speculation that the Lakers may involve him in a blockbuster trade to get Doncic a big-name co-star. It was not surprising in a summer that saw names like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown move.
Perhaps, the Lakers were not sold on moving Reaves, especially because they had opportunities in the past to have made a trade. According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, names like Trae Young have come up in the past and while it felt like an upgrade at the time, the Lakers stuck with their undrafted star.
“They kept Austin out of the Luka trade. They’ve had opportunities (to acquire) Dejounte Murray, Zach LaVine, De’Aaron Fox, there’s been all these guys through the years — Trae Young — where the Lakers could have potentially traded for an All-Star level player,” Buha said during a recent live-stream episode of his podcast, “Buha’s Block.” “Were they willing to give up Austin Reaves, and they’ve continually said no. The bar to trade Austin is high. On top of that, they just re-signed him. My continued understanding of where they’re at with Austin is if they trade Austin, it’s to level up.”
Reaves has grown into an All-Star-level guard himself and if the Lakers didn’t move him seasons back, they certainly won’t move him now.
Lakers Could Have Traded for Young by Giving up Reaves
Reaves’ new deal places him as the first player to receive a max deal while being undrafted. The 28-year-old guard wasn’t called up in 2021, and the Lakers took him on a two-way deal. Ever since then, he has grown to become an integral part of the roster.
Reaves has averaged over 20 points per game in the last two seasons and shot 36 percent and 37.7 percent from beyond the arc while also providing creativity to the roster. This was a roster with Doncic and LeBron James before the latter walked in free agency. Reaves essentially proved that he could even be a primary star and that kind of player is almost untouchable.
“Where the Lakers could have potentially traded for an All-Star-level player were they willing to give up Austin Reaves and they have continuously said no,” Buha said.
If this was three, maybe four or five seasons back, Young would have been an ideal star for the Lakers to trade Reaves. However, the tides have changed as Young is enduring injury issues and a case could be made that he doesn’t currently have much over the Lakers star.
Reaves Established as a Core Piece
The plan was always to have Doncic play alongside an elite backcourt star. His days with Kyrie Irving in the Dallas Mavericks showed just that and the Lakers were determined to make Reaves that second piece. Players like Young could have also been a perfect fit but the Lakers kept their faith in Reaves.
As it stands, Doncic and Reaves are the Lakers’ best shot at contention. The two stars being injured at the start of the playoffs last year derailed L.A.’s postseason hopes.
While Doncic is the franchise player and basically untouchable, there is a feeling that Reaves will not be moved anytime soon unless something drastic happens.
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