The Brooklyn Nets are not done making moves. Austin Reaves is one of the players they want.
NBC Sports reported this week that the Nets are among multiple teams eyeing Reaves in either a trade or sign and trade scenario this summer. Brooklyn is also believed to be in the running for several other guards as the front office tries to add young, productive talent around its cap flexibility. Reaves is the most interesting name on the list.
Here is why the Lakers should at least pick up the phone.
Reaves is one of the most popular Lakers in the locker room. He has been a fan favorite for years. He has earned every minute of the spotlight he has received. He is also coming off the best season of his career, averaging real production while shooting efficiently from the perimeter. He is exactly the kind of secondary creator every team in the league wants.
And he is going to get paid. Reaves can decline his player option after this season and become an unrestricted free agent. He is going to command a massive contract from someone. The Lakers can either pay him the full price or risk losing him for nothing in free agency. That is the calculus the front office has to navigate over the next few months.
The Nets pitch is going to be aggressive. Brooklyn has cap room. They have draft picks they are willing to move. They have a young roster that needs a veteran scoring guard who fits the modern game. Reaves is 27. He is right in the middle of his prime. He would be the kind of long term answer the Nets have been hunting for.
The Lakers have to weigh the value of keeping Reaves against the cost of paying him. Luka Doncic is the lead guard. Anthony Davis is the centerpiece big. The team is trying to add a real center, possibly Daniel Gafford. The cap math gets tight when you start stacking max level salaries on top of each other. Reaves is going to get max level money on his next deal. The Lakers might not be able to afford that and the other moves they need to make.
A sign and trade with Brooklyn would give the Lakers significant assets back. The Nets could send picks and young players to facilitate a deal. The Lakers would lose a fan favorite but gain the flexibility to compete in other ways. That is the kind of cold blooded move that championship contending teams make when the cap forces a decision.
The other angle is what Reaves himself wants. He has been clear publicly about loving life in Los Angeles. He has built a real relationship with Doncic and Davis. He plays in the brightest market in basketball. He has commercial opportunities in LA that he would not have in Brooklyn. The financial difference between the Lakers offer and the Nets offer would have to be substantial for him to actually leave.
The Nets are not the only suitor. The Pelicans, Bulls, Magic, and Pistons have all been mentioned in connection with Reaves. The market for him is going to be loud. The front office is going to be on the phone for weeks.
The Lakers should hold Reaves if they can. He is too good a fit with Doncic and Davis to give up unless the return is truly remarkable. But if Brooklyn wants to overpay in a sign and trade, the Lakers have an obligation to consider it.
Free agency starts June 30. The negotiations begin now. The Reaves situation is the most important story in the Lakers offseason that nobody is talking about yet.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
