The Lakers found success with the double-guard lineup of Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic in the regular season, but that wasn’t the case in the playoffs, where the team lost to the Timberwolves in a quick first-round series.
Many analysts believe Reaves, a defensive liability, is not a good fit next to Doncic, another subpar defensive player, on an aging Lakers squad.
As such, Medium proposed a trade that would see Reaves sent to the Celtics in exchange for Jrue Holiday, a proven defensive ace and two-time NBA champion.
Lakers would receive: Jrue Holiday
Celtics would receive: Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht
“For the Lakers, trading for 34-year-old Jrue Holiday is a totally different situation than trading for a younger player with a longer timeline,” wrote LakerTom.
“Both the matching salaries to trade and annual cost of payroll are much greater. What makes the trade still viable for the Lakers is just how well Jrue Holiday can still play at both ends of the court and the fact that the Lakers do want to optimize the championship chances for Luka Doncic and LeBron James.”
Celtics Could Blow up the Roster
The Celtics endured a disappointing playoff campaign as well. After being widely hailed as favorites to repeat as NBA champions, Joe Mazzulla’s team lost 4-2 to the Knicks in the second round, during which Jayson Tatum suffered a catastrophic Achilles injury.
With Tatum expected to miss most of the 2025-26 season, the Celtics are projected to shed some salary to get under the second-apron in the luxury tax. The C’s are projected to have a payroll of over $500 million next season, with more than half of that sum going towards the luxury tax. As such, they can’t afford to play over $30 million a year to the likes of Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
Should Lakers Trade Reaves?
According to Dan Woike of the LA Times, the Lakers are willing to trade Reaves only if it means acquiring a quality center. JJ Redick’s team was significantly vulnerable in the 2025 playoffs due to a lack of size in the middle.
“Lakers’ scouts and executives here in Chicago have openly spoken about the team’s needs at the center position — an obvious priority for Pelinka and Redick,” Woike wrote on May 16.
“The team has shown no interest in using Reaves in a trade that nets them anything less than a top-tier big, and there aren’t any of those available, with the two most common names linked to them in the earliest stages of the offseason — Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton and Dallas’ Daniel Gafford.”
Reaves addressed the trade rumors in an interview with “Lakers Nation” shortly after the end of the Lakers season.
“I want to be in L.A.,” he said, via CBS Sports.
“If they want to trade me, then we’ll start something new somewhere else. But like I said, I want to be in L.A. I want to be in L.A and play my whole career here.”
Reaves averaged a career-high 20.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the 2024-25 regular season, but those numbers dipped considerably in the playoffs.
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