Lakers fans are convinced Tyrese Haliburton will join Austin Reaves in LA

We are not in the summer of 2023, we are in the summer of Austin Reaves. The Los Angeles Lakers guard has been making headlines left and right, whether it be his great play in the NBA Playoffs, his interesting contract situation in free agency, or his true breakout moment with Team USA.

Reaves has become one of the most talked about players in the league as Lakers fans’ hidden secret is finally revealed. Reaves is a real guy who can hang with the best of them and is absolutely good enough to be the third-best player on a title team.

Reaves’ play for Team USA has been very promising for the Lakers but that is not the only perk of him playing in the FIBA World Cup. There is also the hope that Reaves could recruit some of these stars to LA in the future. Mikal Bridges has already emerged as a potential dream candidate for the Lake Show because of it.

Reaves seems to have an even better connection with Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Because of this, many Lakers fans are convinced that the two players will eventually join forces in Los Angeles.

https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/164gynf/lakers_future_backcourt/

Lakers fans are convinced Austin Reaves will bring Tyrese Haliburton to LA. But is it possible?

It would be great to see Reaves and Haliburton playing next to each other in the purple and gold. Haliburton, who made his first all-star team this last season, is one of the best young point guards in the entire league. His ceiling is extremely high.

As great as it would be to see Haliburton in LA, though, it probably is never going to happen. It does not matter how great their relationship is or what kind of recruiting Reaves might be doing. The logistics simply get in the way of Haliburton being a Laker.

Haliburton just signed a max contract extension with Indiana this offseason. That max extension is for five seasons and even if there is a player option included, Haliburton won’t be a free agent until the 2028 summer at the very earliest.

By that time Reaves’ contract with the Lakers is going to be over and he is already going to be 30 years old. There is no guarantee that he will even be on the Lakers at that point. And if he is, the two playing together in the 2023 World Cup is going to be a thing of the distant past.

A trade is never going to happen, either. Haliburton is a franchise guy and even if he pulls a Damian Lillard and demands a trade after his extension the Lakers won’t have enough assets to make it happen. There is no reasonable way to get Haliburton in LA at the same tim as Reaves.