The Los Angeles Lakers must trade Austin Reaves if they’re serious about building a championship contender around Luka Doncic, reckons NBA analytics guru Tom Haberstroh.
In his latest Substack feature, Haberstroh argued that the Lakers can’t compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy with three subpar defenders, Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Reaves, in the starting unit, making a case for AR-15 to be shipped out.
“The Lakers aren’t going to go deep in the postseason with Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, and they need to make a move sooner than later,” he wrote.
“All three players deserve better: Doncic needs better defenders and athletes; LeBron can’t be playing 35.4 minutes per game; Reaves deserves a chance to be The Guy.”
Slowest Trio in the NBA
Per Second Spectrum player tracking data, Doncic (3.47), James (3.48) and Reaves (3.63) are three of the 10 slowest defensive players in the league based on how much ground they cover on the other end. No other team has even two players in the top-10.
“Having multiple guys who need to be hid defensively spreads a defense thin. Three guys? It’s untenable. For those who are serious about winning,” reasoned Haberstroh.
Based on counting stats, the Lakers have every reason to feel good about their star trio. While Doncic is tallying 34.8 points, 8.8 assists and 8.8 rebounds, Reaves is posting career-high numbers of 27.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds. Even a 40-year-old James has exceeded expectations with 20.2 points, 7.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds.
In fact, the Lakers are the first team in NBA lore to have three 20/5/5 players on the same squad, per Haberstroh’s research. Yet, they are not collectively good together.
“Since the Lakers traded for Doncic, their star trio has played 695 minutes on the floor at the same time, per pbpstats.com. It’s 1,406 possessions worth of data. The Lakers are -31 in those minutes, carrying a -2.6 net rating every 100 possessions.”
Should Lakers Trade Austin Reaves?
That negative net rating is one of the reasons Haberstroh feels the Lakers would be better off trading Reaves for wing defenders who can help Doncic and James. A trade for the latter is unrealistic due to his no-trade clause and his age. Reaves, due for a massive payday as an unrestricted free agent this summer, may be the Lakers’ best trade chip and their only way to upgrade the roster, feels Haberstroh.
The analytics expert highlighted how Reaves has averaged an eye-popping 40.8 points and 9.6 assists in five games without Doncic this season, and therefore deserves his own team.
“He’s clearly ready to be The Guy, but the Lakers can’t accommodate that in a basketball sense,” Haberstroh wrote of Reaves.
The Lakers, who own the full Bird Rights for Reaves, can offer the undrafted guard a five-year, $241 million deal, while other suitors can offer a four-year, $178.5 million deal. As such, the Lakers are well-positioned to retain their blossoming star.
Reaves has hinted that he may be willing to take a pay cut out of his loyalty to the Lakers, who have ambitious plans to pursue star free agents in 2027.
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