Lakers idea sees Los Angeles cut ties with Luka Doncic’s $54 million star teammate via trade originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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If the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t careful, they could find themselves getting obliterated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Lakers lost Game 1 by double digits (18 points) and only put up 90 points in the contest, which could be a sign of what’s to come in the series.
Although Los Angeles has no choice but to keep their roster intact now, ESPN’s Michael Wilbon has a hunch that a move involving Luka Doncic’s star teammate could materialize this summer.
“Not when I look at Oklahoma City, San Antonio (Spurs) and Minnesota (Timberwolves),” Wilbon said Thursday. “They’re all ahead. Denver’s (Nuggets) got to make moves, too. So you’re going against teams that are already ahead of you.”
You mention Reaves, he is an interesting piece and situation. There are some places—Reaves could open a lot of places,” Wilbon said. “He is a really good player. Does he have to be with Luka and LeBron? I don’t know, they’ve got some needs on that team.
“You think that Austin Reaves can’t get traded? You think that Jaylen Brown can’t get traded? Any of them can be traded. I think that Denver and the Lakers are two teams I am looking at that have to improve their teams.”
Reaves is a tremendous regular-season player, evidenced by 23.3 points per game this year and 20.2 points per game last season. The slithery 27-year-old guard’s smooth handle, combined with his evolving improvisational skills and contact-inviting tendencies in downhill driving situations, has helped him put his name on the map in the big leagues.
That said, Reaves struggled mightily in last year’s postseason, contributing 15.0 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 30.4% from the field and 11.8% from long range.
Reaves’ shortcomings and the Lakers’ significant frontcourt void (due to their insistence on trading Anthony Davis) allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to cruise to a 4-1 series victory in the opening round of the playoffs.
While the Oklahoma product played well in the two games he appeared in vs. the Houston Rockets in the first round of this year’s postseason, he was horrendous against the Thunder on Tuesday.
Reaves finished the contest with just eight points on 18.8% field goal shooting and 0% three-point shooting.
Of course, it’s still early in the series, but if Reaves ultimately fails to change the narrative surrounding his play under the bright lights, Wilbon’s trade idea could become a no-brainer option for the Lakers.
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