The Los Angeles Lakers made key additions this offseason, signing DeAndre Ayton to address their hole at center and Jake LaRavia to help with floor spacing and defense on the wing. Those are steps in the right direction, but there is still an unaddressed need at the backcourt.
The Lakers currently feature Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in the backcourt. Offensively, that duo can create and score at a high level. But defensively, the pairing leaves Los Angeles exposed on the perimeter, where neither is known for getting defensive stops.
Because of the defensive concerns, there’s been speculation that Reaves could be the odd man out. While Reaves is still eyeing a major contract to stay in Los Angeles, and the Lakers haven’t made any strong push to move him, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report floated a scenario where Reaves is sent to the Toronto Raptors.
“Maybe the Lakers keep Reaves anyway, but it isn’t hard to envision them using his trade value to bring their roster better balance.
The 27-year-old would have plenty of suitors, too, since he already produces like a near-star (20.2 points and 5.8 assists) and will still make role-player money for the upcoming season.
Toronto has seemingly had an appetite for a major addition this offseason, and Reaves could be a strong fit. He would simultaneously check off boxes for perimeter shooting and support scoring, plus he’d have a long enough runway in front of him to grow alongside this core.”
Zach Buckley didn’t outline specific trade assets going back to Los Angeles in his proposal, but the Raptors do have an intriguing defensive piece in Ochai Agbaji. If the Lakers are looking to improve defensively, Agbaji might be a name to watch.
That said, any trade would still need to work financially, and it’s unclear how the money matches without more pieces involved. RJ Barrett could be in the mix as well. Doesn’t bring much defense, but could help replace Reaves’ offense.
