The Los Angeles Lakers were projected to compete for this year’s championship after acquiring five-time All-Star Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in February.
The Lakers finished the season 50-32 to clinch the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.
Despite having Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and home-court advantage, the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves in five games. And to make matters worse, James suffered a left knee injury in Game 5. The leading scorer in NBA history will use the summer to recover from his injury.
In the second half of Game 4 of the Timberwolves-Lakers series, Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick only played Doncic, Reaves, James, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith and benched center Jaxson Hayes in Game 5.
Los Angeles Lakers stars Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves
Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
The Lakers have admitted their need to acquire a center this offseason, which is why Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley’s prediction that Rob Pelinka will acquire a big man this summer isn’t that surprising.
However, Buckley predicts that Pelinka will trade for a center while keeping Reaves.
“What feels more likely is that Reaves is kept off-limits, and the Lakers land someone like Walker Kessler, Nic Claxton, Daniel Gafford, Robert Williams III or Mitchell Robinson,” Buckley wrote.
According to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, the Lakers won’t trade Reaves unless they can acquire a “top-tier big.” Buckley doesn’t believe a star center will become available this summer, so he has Reaves returning to the purple and gold.
Reaves played well for the Lakers during the regular season. He averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 73 games while shooting 46.0% from the field, 37.7% from 3 and 87.7% from the foul line.
It will be fascinating to see if Pelinka can trade for a center this offseason.
