Since returning from his back injury, Austin Reaves has helped the Los Angeles Lakers stabilize in recent weeks, most recently hitting a game-winner to beat the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day.
The Lakers have looked like a solid team on most nights, though the perception around the league is they’re still a couple of pieces away from being true contenders. Reaves looks the part of a core member of the roster considering how much he’s responsible for on offense, but it still hasn’t kept his name out of trade rumors.
So far, Los Angeles has been adamant about keeping Reaves as he’s on a team-friendly deal and arguably the Lakers’ third-best player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Because of that, though, teams are going to continue to ask for Reaves in any deal.
For example, the Chicago Bulls are open for sale and while they have a couple of players that would be of interest to Los Angeles, most notably Zach LaVine, Reaves won’t be included in any packages, via Joe Cowley of Chicago Sun-Times:
“There have been whispers about the Lakers for over a year now, but a source said that the pieces that would have to be swapped don’t fit, and Los Angeles remains steadfast that Austin Reaves isn’t going to be included.”
Because of the need to match salaries in a deal, the Lakers would have to send out a contract like Reaves to acquire the likes of LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and even Lonzo Ball. Alternatively, Los Angeles could throw in D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura to make any trades legal but it’s doubtful that Chicago has any interest in them.
No player should be considered untouchable, but the Lakers are being smart not trading away Reaves for another role player. Reaves is good enough to bring back multiple good players in a potential trade, though at this time of the year teams’ asking prices are still high.
For now, it might be best to table any sort of trades with the Bulls until they lower their prices on their veterans. In the meantime, the Lakers will continue to scour the trade market for upgrades and are being heavily linked to big men like Walker Kessler, Robert Williams III and Jonas Valanciunas.
Austin Reaves admits he didn’t handle Pistons’ aggressive defense well
While Austin Reaves is being given more opportunities to initiate the offense, he struggled going up against the Detroit Pistons’ ball pressure. After the Lakers’ loss, Reaves admitted he didn’t handle the Pistons’ aggressiveness well.
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