Lakers Urged to Trade Austin Reaves by NBA Analytics Guru

NBA analytics expert Tom Haberstroh argues that the Los Angeles Lakers must trade guard Austin Reaves to build a legitimate championship contender around Luka Dončić. In his analysis, Haberstroh contends that starting a trio of subpar defenders—Dončić, LeBron James, and Reaves—makes a deep playoff run untenable, as it overly strains the team's defense.

Supporting data shows Dončić, James, and Reaves are among the ten slowest defensive players in the league based on ground covered. No other team has more than one player in this category. Despite their impressive individual offensive statistics—making the Lakers the first NBA team with three players averaging at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists—the trio has a negative net rating of -2.6 per 100 possessions when sharing the court.

Haberstroh believes trading Reaves is the most feasible path to acquiring the wing defenders needed to support Dončić and James. He notes that Reaves, an impending unrestricted free agent, has thrived as a primary option in games without Dončić, averaging 40.8 points and 9.6 assists, suggesting he is ready to lead his own team. While the Lakers can offer Reaves a larger contract than any other team, trading him may be their best opportunity to upgrade the roster for a championship push.