As Austin Reaves continues to ascend to superstardom, the Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly turned down “over 20 offers” in trade talks for the guard over the last year or so.
According to Lakers Daily’s Ashish Mathur, the Lakers have been flooded with offers for Reaves, but they’ve remained firm about holding onto the 27-year-old guard.
“The Los Angeles Lakers highly value Austin Reaves,” Mathur wrote on Tuesday.
“Just how much, you ask? Sources told Lakers Daily that the Lakers have rejected over 20 trade offers for Reaves since last season.”
Reaves, who is widely expected to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026, is in the middle of a breakout season. The undrafted guard is averaging career-highs in points (30.3), assists (9.0), rebounds (4.6), and made threes (2.9), while helping the Lakers to an 8-3 record thus far. He is almost a lock to make his first All-Star team.
Only for Giannis or Jokic
The report added that the Rob Pelinka-led front office would move Austin Reaves only for former MVPs Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“The Lakers are only going to trade Austin for Giannis or Jokic,” one Lakers source told Lakers Daily. “And neither of those guys is getting traded this season.”
Incidentally, Jokic and Antetokounmpo could both become unrestricted free agents in 2027, unless the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets lock them into contract extensions beforehand. While Jokic is highly unlikely to depart from Denver, the jury is still out on Antetokounmpo, who said last month that he would reassess his future with the Bucks after the 2025-26 season.
“I’m locked into whatever I have in front of me,” he said during training camp, via NBA.com. “Now if in six, seven months I change my mind, that’s human, too. You’re allowed to make any decision you want. But I’m locked in. I’m locked into this team. I’m locked into these guys, this group, and to my coaching staff and to myself.”
Austin Reaves Open to Paycut?
The one positive development for the Lakers is that Reaves has publicly expressed his desire to take a pay cut and remain in Los Angeles.
In an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Reaves confirmed that he turned down a four-year $89 million extension from the Lakers last summer, and that he isn’t expecting a “gigantic” deal when he’s due for a payday in July 2026.
“I try not to think about it. Honestly. I’ve said it a million times. I want to be in L.A. I love it,” Reaves said of his mindset entering free agency.
“Even though the other extension was turned down, that doesn’t mean that I’m trying to go get a f—ing gigantic number that don’t make sense. I want to be here, I want to win. I want to do everything that can help this organization be better. So I don’t try to think about those things.”
There were initially concerns that Reaves, a natural ball-handler, would struggle to fit into a Lakers team boasting Luka Doncic and LeBron James. However, JJ Redick has found a way to make things work, as evidenced by the Lakers winning 50 games and clinching the third seed last season after a midseason trade to acquire Doncic.
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