As the Los Angeles Lakers look to make some moves before the NBA trade deadline to improve a struggling roster, it seems that Lebron James and Anthony Davis aren’t the only untouchable players on the team.
For the second straight season, the Lakers have had a first half to forget. Despite bringing back much of the same roster that reached the Western Conference Finals last season, they head into their game on Sunday versus the Portland Trail Blazers a game under .500 and in a tie for the final NBA Play-In spot.
However, there is hope the team can turn it around before the trade deadline because general manager Rob Pelinka did exactly that last season. There has been a lot of speculation about players they could add — Dejounte Murray and Zach LaVine — but it’s always been assumed that Anthony Davis and Lebron James are the only untouchables on the roster. Yet, that may not be the case.
Austin Reaves viewed as nearly untouchable by Los Angeles Lakers
On Friday, The Athletic’s Lakers reporter Jovan Buha claimed that while Austin Reaves isn’t technically “untouchable” he is as close as can be to any player other than James and Davis.
“The Lakers value [Reaves] highly and have no interest in trading him, according to team and league sources,” Buha wrote. “He’s on a cost-controlled, team-friendly deal for at least two more seasons. For the Lakers to consider moving Reaves, they’d need to receive either a clear-cut All-Star — someone better than Murray or LaVine, for example — or multiple rotation upgrades, according to those sources. Every other Laker is on the table.”
After having a breakout season in 2022-23, Reaves has struggled for much of the last few months. While his points per game, rebounds, and assists numbers are up this year, he is also playing more minutes. However, his field goal and three-point percentages are down as he is shooting more this season.
- Austin Reaves stats (2023-24): 15.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, 34% 3PT
Furthermore, he has been rough at times on defense this season and it is part of why he was replaced in the starting lineup for a time by head coach Darvin Ham.