With the arrival of Luka Doncic and the departure of Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles franchise urgently needs a center, and one of its stars could be the one affected.
The Los Angeles Lakers need a center. Very urgently. Of course, no one in Los Angeles regrets trading Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic, but they have a huge hole in the middle that they will need to fill if they want to be a serious contender next season.
And really, the only legitimate piece they have – and a good one – that can get them the big man they so desperately need, is Austin Reaves. He is a player that the Lakers have resisted trading for a couple of years. They have refused to put him on the table. But this summer, it might be the time. Clutch Points quotes Bill Simmons saying on his podcast: “When Reaves is traded this summer, and he will be, what the Lakers get for him will make the fact that the Dallas Mavericks didn’t get Luka in trade look worse.”
Bill Plaschke of the LA Times made the same point recently, stating that the Lakers must trade Austin Reaves, calling it a painful truth. As noted by the Lakers’ insider: If the Lakers are going to get to where they need to be, they will have to do it without Austin Reaves. If the Lakers truly value acquiring a big man, they will have to part ways with the small one.
The reason Reaves has to leave Los Angeles
He calls Reaves: “My favorite. Everyone’s favorite… But it’s time.” But Clutch Points reports that the Lakers supposedly see Reaves as one of the 3 cornerstones of the franchise, and (STILL) are not looking to trade him. When the crunch time comes this offseason, and the team realizes they truly need an impactful center to take the team to the next level, we will see if they finally relent and pull the trigger.
Reaves became a 20-point scorer this season, averaging 20.2 points per game, along with 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists. All those numbers have been increasing in each of his four years in the NBA. He is now a bona fide star in this league. He has one year left on his 13.9 million dollar contract and then has a player option to become a free agent. That decision is a no-brainer. But as Clutch sums it up: “The only question is, who will he be playing for then?”