{"id":578243,"date":"2026-02-02T22:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/578243\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T22:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:41:25","slug":"lakers-big-trade-deadline-addition-is-a-familiar-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/578243\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers’ Big Trade Deadline Addition Is A Familiar Face"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have trended in the right direction in January. They also have more good news on the horizon. Breakout star Austin Reaves<\/a> is close to returning from his injury at an important time for the Lakers.<\/p>\n

Lakers\u2019 Big Trade Deadline Addition Is A Familiar Face
\nA December Low, A January Turnaround
\n\"OctOct 26, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake Laravia (12) high fives guard Austin Reaves (15) after scoring against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Los Angeles endured a dreadful December. They posted a 5\u20137 record. It marked their first losing month of the season. The Lakers turned things around in January. They posted a 9\u20137 record. That stretch stands out because they played more road games. In fact, their 112\u2013100 loss to the Knicks<\/a> came in their penultimate game of an eight-game road trip.<\/p>\n

Reaves\u2019 Return Changes Everything<\/p>\n

Everyone knows the roster\u2019s limitations. Injuries have had the most profound impact on the Lakers\u2019 performance. The Lakers continue to trend upward. Austin Reaves\u2019 return from a Grade 2 calf injury provides the exact boost the Lakers need near the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s [Austin Reaves] day-to-day, game-to-game, however you want to phrase it,\u201d Redick said<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ll hopefully have him for Tuesday, but he\u2019s got to feel 100% confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers again listed Reaves as questionable. They opted to sideline him after a brief pregame routine on Sunday. Reaves\u2019 injury issues began on Dec. 8 against San Antonio. The Lakers sidelined him with a light strain in his left calf.<\/p>\n

That setback forced him to miss an extended stretch. He returned for two appearances. That comeback quickly unraveled. After a Christmas game against Houston, the same calf problem resurfaced. Reaves averaged over 26 points, five rebounds, and six assists before the injury. He then missed 19 straight games between December and January. Reaves return on Tuesday will start his integration back into the rotation likely off the bench.<\/p>\n

Deadline Plans Come Into Focus<\/p>\n

The Lakers do not project to make a major move before the deadline. Los Angeles have chased almost every available player on a flexible contract. They do not want to use their first-round pick now. They could access three first-rounders in the summer. GM Rob Pelinka will keep shopping expirings and second-round picks. He seeks marginal upgrades. Reaves\u2019 return will feel like a trade deadline addition for the Lakers.<\/p>\n

Credit:\u00a9 David Richard-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Los Angeles Lakers have trended in the right direction in January. They also have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578244,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[8218,1013,7,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6,15113,2828],"class_list":{"0":"post-578243","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-2025-26-nba-season","9":"tag-austin-reaves","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-la","12":"tag-la-lakers","13":"tag-lakers","14":"tag-lalakers","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","17":"tag-losangeles","18":"tag-losangeleslakers","19":"tag-nba","20":"tag-nba-injuries","21":"tag-nba-trade-deadline"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116003451610212324","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}