But it\u2019s time.<\/p>\n
If the Lakers<\/a> are going to get where they need to be, they\u2019ll have to get there without Austin Reaves. If the Lakers truly value the acquisition of a big man, they\u2019re going to have to get rid of the little fella.<\/p>\n Damn, I hate writing these next three words.<\/p>\n Trade Austin Reaves.<\/p>\n Send him packing in a deal that brings the Lakers the sort of lob partner and rim protector whose absence knocked you out of the postseason. Use him as the most attractive asset that could lure the sort of behemoth that could help this group bully their way back into contention.<\/p>\n You say you want to build around Luka Doncic<\/a>? Start with uprooting Reaves.<\/p>\n You say you want LeBron James<\/a> to have one more chance at glory before he retires? It\u2019s never going to happen while running next to Reaves.<\/p>\n Six months ago, this whole idea was absurd. For a while last season, Reaves was the vital cog<\/a> in a Lakers offense that transitioned from Anthony Davis<\/a> to Doncic while maintaining Reaves\u2019 spot as a powerful No. 3 option.<\/p>\n He averaged a career-high 20 points, six assists and five rebounds. He made a team-high 73 starts. He was their leader in consistency and conscience, playing hard, playing hurt, always playing with intent.<\/p>\n Only 11 other NBA players averaged at least 20 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists. And only three players on that list were younger than Reaves at age 26.<\/p>\n Lakers guard Austin Reaves drives to the basket against Wizards guard Bob Carrington during a game at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n (Wally Skalij \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n He was the headband-wearing, scowl-showing oddball star of the show. He won the Christmas Day game with a last-second layup against Golden State. He scored 38 in a January win against Brooklyn. He scored 45 without Doncic or James in a February win against Indiana. He had 37 points and 13 assists in a shorthanded March loss in Denver that represented their most inspirational effort of the season.<\/p>\n By the end of the regular season he had moved from luxury to necessity, ballooning into the conversation as one of the Lakers Big Three untouchables.<\/p>\n Then, in five postseason game \u2026 Pop! \u2026 Psssst!<\/p>\n As the Lakers were losing four of five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Reaves was literally losing his footing with each dribble, struggling with a bruised toe and battered reputation.<\/p>\n He was lousy on offense, shooting barely 30% from deep. He was lousy on defense, constantly beaten by the Timberwolves\u2019 more athletic backcourt. He was turned upside down by a physicality he could not match, and perhaps will never be able to match.<\/p>\n The moments when his best was required, he was at his worst. In every fourth quarter he disappeared as his team\u2019s chance disappeared with him.<\/p>\n In the five fourth quarters he averaged three points. He scored one point in Game 3. He scored three points in Game 5.<\/p>\n In less than two weeks, he went from untouchable to untenable, and the new opinion on him is now clear.<\/p>\n If Austin Reaves is the Lakers\u2019 third-best player, they\u2019re going to have a difficult time winning a championship. If he\u2019s in their Big 3, they don\u2019t have a Big 3.<\/p>\n This is absolutely not to place the blame on Reaves for the loss to Minnesota. He was just a small part of everything that went wrong. But, unlike some diva stars from other losing teams, he boldly and publicly acknowledged his role in the carnage.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously I didn\u2019t have the series that I wanted to have,\u201d Reaves told reporters in his exit interview after the playoff series. \u201cYou could point the finger at me. I really don\u2019t care. I wasn\u2019t good enough to help us be successful and I wish I could have done more, but I didn\u2019t. I struggled. You live and you learn.\u201d<\/p>\n Problem is, he can\u2019t learn to get taller, or learn to be more athletic, or learn to fit into an offense in which his strengths and weaknesses mirror those of Doncic, who needs a more complementary piece.<\/p>\n \u201c… Quite frankly, nobody thought I was ever gonna be in this position,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I\u2019ve continued to prove myself over and over again. And, I\u2019m gonna go to work and do the same thing next year. That\u2019s really it. I just needed to be better and I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n That sort of honest introspection is just one reason why the Lakers players respect him as a locker-room leader and the Lakers\u2019 front office loves him as, among other things, a relatively inexpensive $14-million asset. And yeah, fans dearly want him to do well, and would love it if he stayed here forever.<\/p>\n Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Austin Reaves slap hands after Finney-Smith made a three-pointer against the Timberwolves during a playoff game in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n (Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n To be clear, the Lakers do not want to trade him, and there\u2019s been no substantiated talk about trading him. James and Doncic do not want him gone. Around 19,000 at each home game do not want him gone.<\/p>\n But everybody knows the deal. To get something special, you\u2019re going to have to give up something special.<\/p>\n If they have even a minuscule chance of acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo, any deal would have to include Reaves. If they want Joel Embiid, Reaves has to go. They could probably get Nic Claxton without Reaves in the deal, but don\u2019t they need to do better than Nic Claxton?<\/p>\n In his exit interview<\/a>, basketball boss Rob Pelinka<\/a> made it clear that he saw what everyone else saw when Minnesota\u2019s Rudy Gobert suddenly became Wilt Chamberlain. They desperately need a center, and when the Lakers desperately need something, they will stop at nothing to get it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be great to have a center that was a vertical threat, lob threat, and someone that could protect the interior defensively, I think those would be key,\u201d said Pelinka to reporters. \u201cBut there\u2019s multiple different types of centers that can be very effective in the league. There\u2019s also spread centers that can protect the rim. We\u2019ll look at those as well. So I wouldn\u2019t want to limit the archetype, but we know we need a big man.\u201d<\/p>\n He pretty much covered every coveted big man in the league with that quote, didn\u2019t he? Here\u2019s guessing if the Lakers can get the right center, Reaves\u2019 future here doesn\u2019t stand a chance.<\/p>\n Not that the lack of size is the only large Laker problem going into the summer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n