The Los Angeles Lakers are intent on making some big changes before this week's NBA trade deadline but they may be prevented from doing so because of their insistence on holding onto fan-favorite guard Austin Reaves.
On Tuesday morning, The Athletic reported that the Lakers aren't willing to part ways with Reaves and that he remains "off the table barring a clear-cut All-Star shockingly becoming available." In other words, unless the team gets an All-Star in his place, they aren't saying goodbye to the young star.
The Lakers have been hard at work trying to bolster their roster before the deadline. Many reports have said that they have an eye on Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks. However, the Hawks aren't interested in the Lakers' proposed deal, which consists of D'Angelo Russell and a few draft picks.
Instead, the Hawks want to acquire Reaves, who they envision playing alongside Trae Young on the team's backcourt.
The Athletic also reported that the Lakers could decide to trade Rui Hachimura and/or Gabe Vincent too, but neither of those players entice the Hawks either. That means the Lakers-Hawks deal could be dead in the water unless a third team comes into play.
As Thursday's deadline quickly approaches, it is possible that the Lakers run out of options since they aren't willing to lose Reaves. Or they could target smaller stars instead of Murray, such as Tyus Jones, Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O'Neale, or others.
The Lakers remain committed to Reaves but that could ultimately limit their chances of landing more win-now talent this week.
Austin Reaves is off the table for the Lakers in any trade discussions moving forward, unless it’s a “clear-cut All-Star” in return, per @jovanbuha (theathletic.com/5253703/2024/0…). Reaves continues to be a non-starter in any trade negotiations with the Hawks for Dejounte Murray.
