After the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves just five games into their first-round matchup, it was clear that there would need to be a lot of changes to fix LA’s weaknesses. The team had no hope of stopping Rudy Gobert or protecting the paint themselves, resulting in a lopsided series loss that was expected to be a closer battle. The Lakers have talent to spare outside of LeBron James and Luka Dončić, but if the Lakers hope to win a championship with those two, they’ll have to cash in on their other assets to fill out the roster.
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Austin Reaves has been the clear third option in LA for the last two seasons, but with Luka Dončić now replacing Anthony Davis, Reaves brings a somewhat repetitive, and therefore expendable, skillset. Without many other tradeable contracts to offer, Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson believe moving on from Reaves is the best course of action for LA.
Sharpe first mentioned a recent comment from Reaves’ agent, where he called out those who wanted to see the fourth-year guard shipped away for a center. Both Sharpe and Ocho lauded Reaves’ improvement over the last couple of seasons, adding that the Lakers guard should be set for a massive pay raise soon, no matter what team he’s on.
“Next year is going to be a show. People really have no idea what’s to come. Keep putting him in trade rumors for second-string centers,” Sharpe read Reaves’ agent’s tweet on Nightcap. The agent, Aaron Reilly, shared a video of his client dominating the possible Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers to show Reaves’ value on a contending team.
The Hall of Fame tight end believes Reaves will find his way to another team eventually, anyway. At 26 years old, Reaves will have to plan carefully for what could be the most important contract he’ll receive in his career. The Lakers can easily turn this situation into a win-win by getting Reaves his payday elsewhere in exchange for frontcourt depth.
“The Lakers can only pay [Reaves] so much. You’re gonna go somewhere and get a big payday anyway. You ain’t trying to stay with the Lakers when you get a $200 million and they can’t give you that.” Sharpe explained. The Denver Broncos legend continued to praise Reaves for working his way up from undrafted prospect to borderline All-Star.
Reaves’ initial four year/$53 million dollar contract was the max the Lakers could offer their home grown talent in 2022. Despite coming off a year that saw him becoming a real rotation piece after improving in every regard since being signed as an undrafted free agent, the Lakers were unable to offer him to a bigger deal. While rival teams could have exceeded these terms, Reaves lack of track record scared them off. The same can’t be said now, and teams will likely offer Reaves a bag.
Sharpe knows that the Lakers can offer Reaves an extension longer than any other team, but it’d be hard for the franchise to make him a priority at this point. Their offseason plan became crystal clear after the title-hopeful Lakers were embarrassed in an uncompetitive opening series. While the whole team lacked any real defensive intensity, Reaves also had an awful series individually.
“Yeah, [Reaves] has improved everyone season, he’s a hell of a player. But those three guys are not gonna win anything,” Sharpe continued. “Now I’m not saying you gotta package him, but they need a big. And he’s the only valuable piece that they have.”
Maybe the Lakers attempt to keep their Big Three together and run it back with a different set of players on minimum contracts. If LA expects to receive some real help in the frontcourt, though, trading Reaves may be their best course of action. Either way, the 26-year-old will be due to make $30 million annually after opting out of his current deal.
