There are a lot of question marks surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers roster heading into the 2025-26 season.
The front office did a nice job of addressing their needs this offseason by bringing in Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia.
A majority of their roster is on expiring contracts, however, so how they will handle building around Luka Doncic in the long term still remains to be seen.
One potential long-term piece for the Lakers is guard Austin Reaves, who originally went undrafted but has developed into an All-Star caliber player. As Reaves gets set to enter his fifth season with the team, he has the potential to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time next summer where he will cash in on a large contract.
Because of that and his questionable fit with Doncic considering they are both used to having the ball in their hands and aren’t plus defenders, a lot of people have suggested the Lakers should trade Austin Reaves this summer or at some point before the trade deadline. One person who believes that is Robert Horry, as he explained on his Big Shot Bob podcast:
“If the Lakers are smart, they would do a sign-and-trade. And the reason I say that is because when you have a team with two players, who are pretty much the same, meaning Luka and AR, I’m not saying they have the same skill set — they play the same position, pretty much do the same thing — it’s a wash. Don’t get me wrong, I love AR, but you don’t need two of the same players.”
If the Lakers don’t view Reaves as a long-term fit with Doncic in the backcourt then it would make sense to trade him instead of losing him for nothing next summer in free agency.
Whether or not Reaves and Doncic fit together remains to be seen though as they actually had success in their limited time sharing the floor last season. Doncic has also found a way to make it work with other guards in Dallas too, with Kyrie Irving and Jalen Brunson being primary examples.
Reaves is currently on one of the best contracts in the league at around $14 million. In theory, that should mean he has a lot of trade value. The issue is that he can opt out and test free agency next offseason, so teams may be hesitant to give up valuable pieces for the 27-year-old considering it may just be a rental.
Regardless, at this point it is a foregone conclusion that the Lakers will start the season with a Reaves and Doncic backcourt. If things aren’t working out, then perhaps trade talks heat up before the deadline in February.
Austin Reaves and Lakers have mutual interest in long-term partnership
Austin Reaves declined an extension from the Lakers this offseason, but reports still indicate there is mutual interest in getting a deal done to keep him in L.A. next summer.
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