Austin Reaves has gone from being labeled untouchable to surfacing in offseason rumor mill. After a postseason where he shot just 41.1% overall and 31.9% from deep, the noise around him has grown louder.
The team’s flaws have been hard to miss. The Lakers need a reliable big and an elite perimeter defender who can hide Luka Doncic in the backcourt. There’s been no word from the front office about moving Reaves so far, but they’ve made it clear they’re trying to fill those holes.
The questions are now obvious. Can a Reaves trade help fill those gaps? And where would he go? Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley believes Dallas could make the most sense as a landing spot.
Dallas Mavericks receive: Austin Reaves and Shake Milton
Los Angeles Lakers receive: Dereck Lively II and P.J. Washington
“The Mavericks need a ball-handler to hold things over while Kyrie Irving recovers from his ACL tear and a support scorer to slot alongside a healthy Irving and Anthony Davis. Few players who are realistically connected to the trade market would better check both boxes than Reaves.”
“The Lakers would need to decide whether Lively qualifies as the impact big they’re after, but save for some injury issues, his first two seasons have been true head-turners. And since he spent a season-plus with Dončić in Dallas, Lively might hit the ground running in L.A. Washington, meanwhile, has the same connection with Dončić and could bring both defensive versatility and shot-making to the perimeter group.”
