The first big trade of this summer took place on Sunday, with the Memphis Grizzlies sending Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic. While one might have imagined that a Bane trade wouldn’t involve too many assets, the Magic did end up giving up a lot.
The Grizzlies received Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, the 16th pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns‘ 2026 first-round pick, and the Magic’s 2028 and 2030 first-round picks. They also got a first-round pick swap in 2029.
The massive return has led to Los Angeles Lakers fans believing the team can get a comparable or even better haul for Austin Reaves, whose name has been floated in trade rumors. Reaves is easily the best trade asset the Lakers have, as he is coming off the best season of his career.
Reaves averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2024-25. You could argue the 27-year-old had a better campaign than Bane, who put up 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Grizzlies.
While a look at the numbers and the fact that they’re basically the same age (Bane turns 27 later this month) would suggest they’d fetch comparable hauls, that’s simply not the case. A big reason for that is the contract situation.
Bane will enter the second year of his five-year, $197 million extension in 2025-26. While he’ll eat up a big portion of their salary cap, they at least have him under contract for four seasons.
Reaves, on the other hand, could be gone in a year. The guard has a $14.9 million player option for 2026-27, which he is expected to decline to enter free agency in 2026.
So, Reaves basically has a year left on his deal, and you don’t get a big haul for players in that situation unless it’s a superstar. His next contract won’t be cheap either.
The biggest contract the Lakers can offer Reaves this offseason is $82.9 million over four years. That would be a bargain, but he’s not going to accept it. All Reaves needs to do is wait for a year, and he will be eligible to get a five-year deal that would pay him $42.5 million in the first year.
Reaves might not ask to be paid that much, but he is reportedly seeking a salary in the $30 million starting range. That would be a significant investment, and it’s one of the big reasons why the trade rumors have surfaced.
It might be in the Lakers’ best interests to move Reaves this summer rather than give him that mega deal next year. While he is a very good player, there are questions about whether you can win a title with him and Luka Doncic as your starting backcourt.
To put it mildly, Reaves and Doncic are not good defenders. They were horribly exposed in the first round of the playoffs as the Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Lakers in five games.
To make matters worse, Reaves wasn’t his usual self on offense either. He averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game against the Timberwolves while shooting 41.1% from the field and 31.9% from beyond the arc.
While you’d brush off those struggles on offense as an aberration, that can’t be done for Reaves’ performances on the other end. So, even if this contract situation wasn’t hovering over the team as a dark cloud, you’d think some consideration would have to be given to parting ways with him, as Doncic isn’t going anywhere.
Reaves’ struggles as a defender are another reason why he isn’t worth as much as Bane in a trade. While the latter is by no means a lockdown defender, he can still hold his own on that end of the floor.
With all this in mind, it will be interesting to see what the Lakers do with Reaves this offseason. If they decide against trading him, then you’d imagine they are willing to give him a massive new deal. Would that be the right decision? You can see the pros and cons, and it would really be determined by whether Reaves can take another leap in a year or two.
