{"id":95403,"date":"2025-08-31T10:27:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T10:27:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=95403"},"modified":"2025-08-31T10:27:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T10:27:53","slug":"update-rumors-swirl-as-lakers-pushed-to-move-austin-reaves-in-potential-deal-for-luka-doncic-teammate-who-could-it-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=95403","title":{"rendered":"Update: Rumors swirl as Lakers pushed to move Austin Reaves in potential deal for Luka Doncic teammate who could it be"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"l-article__header\">\n<h3 class=\"c-headline c-headline--extra-large entry-title\">Lakers Urged to Trade Austin Reaves for Luka Doncic\u2019s Teammate<\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"l-article__content\">\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2207275469-e1751117778351.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2207275469-e1751117778351.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2207275469-e1751117778351.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2207275469-e1751117778351.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Austin Reaves\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"2254\" data-dom-ready-time=\"2265\" \/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">\n<p>The Los Angeles Lakers face a decision on Austin Reaves&#8217; future.<\/p>\n<p>The importance of on-court chemistry can\u2019t be understated in basketball. Los Angeles Lakers star\u00a0Luka Doncic\u00a0developed it with many of his former Dallas Mavericks teammates, but none more so than\u00a0Dereck Lively II, who thrived next to the Slovenian superstar in their one-and-a-half seasons together.<\/p>\n<p>Doncic and Lively\u2019s chemistry was instrumental to the Mavericks reaching the 2024 NBA Finals, with the latter catching lobs and setting screens for the superstar guard, while also covering for his defensive lapses as a decoy at the rim and on the perimeter.<\/p>\n<p>Many analysts have urged the Lakers to find a way to reunite Doncic and Lively. The Mavericks are unlikely to bite, given that Lively, 21, has barely scratched the surface of his potential. However, they could be enticed if the Lakers offer\u00a0Austin Reaves, their third-best player and playmaker, who has room to grow in his own right.<\/p>\n<p>Bleacher Report\u2019s Zach Buckley\u00a0has suggested that the Lakers send Reaves to Dallas in a deal for Lively, arguing that the latter is a better on-court fit with Doncic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The Proposed Trade<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Lakers would receive:<\/strong>\u00a0Dereck Lively II and Caleb Martin<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mavericks would receive:<\/strong>\u00a0Austin Reaves and a 2031 first-round pick<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLakers fans probably won\u2019t like this suggestion. Maybe their decision-makers wouldn\u2019t, either. That\u2019s fine,\u201d wrote Buckley. \u201cThey all seem like big fans of Reaves, and he\u2019s given them plenty of reasons to feel that way\u2014like the 20.2 points and 5.8 assists he averaged as a third option this past season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a really good player. He\u2019s also not a great trade asset. His growth potential is probably limited by his age (27), and he might be super expensive by this time next year. One executive recently told ESPN\u2019s Tim Bontemps that Reaves \u201cwill get $30 [million] plus\u201d on his next contract.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe Lakers could cross their fingers and give him that kind of coin, but they could also flip him and a future first for Lively, who has established chemistry with Luka Don\u010di\u0107 and cornerstone potential on defense, and Martin, a reliable role-playing wing with a proven ability to perform on the postseason stage.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Could Lakers Trade Austin Reaves?<\/h2>\n<p>As Buckley highlighted, the Lakers have a significant decision to make regarding Reaves over the next 12 months or so. The 26-year-old guard can become an unrestricted free agent in 2026, and could command offers north of $30 million from other teams.<\/p>\n<p>Reaves reportedly turned down the Lakers\u2019 four-year, $89.2 million offer earlier this offseason, and understandably so. The undrafted guard averaged an impressive 20.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds last season, enjoying upticks across the board.<\/p>\n<p>According to NBC Sports\u2019 Kurt Helin, Reaves wants to be paid \u201cin the\u00a0Tyler Herro\u00a0range of $30 million a year (and Herro is a good comp in a lot of ways).\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\"><em>\u201cIf Reaves shows this season that he can be a high-level scorer next to Luka Doncic and can step up his game in the playoffs, the Lakers gladly will pay that much to keep him (and Reaves will want to stay). However, if he struggles again in the playoffs, the Lakers \u2014 who will have a lot of cap space \u2014 may question whether that is the best way to spend their money,\u201d Helin wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Reaves is expected to start the 2025-26 season as one of the starting guards next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Last year, concerns arose about the Lakers fielding three ball-handlers in the starting unit, but the trio found ways to thrive together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lakers Urged to Trade Austin Reaves for Luka Doncic\u2019s Teammate The Los Angeles Lakers face a decision on Austin Reaves&#8217; future. The importance of on-court chemistry can\u2019t&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Update: Rumors swirl as Lakers pushed to move Austin Reaves in potential deal for Luka Doncic teammate who could it be - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=95403\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update: Rumors swirl as Lakers pushed to move Austin Reaves in potential deal for Luka Doncic teammate who could it be - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lakers Urged to Trade Austin Reaves for Luka Doncic\u2019s Teammate The Los Angeles Lakers face a decision on Austin Reaves&#8217; future. 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