The Los Angeles Lakers' season is officially over, and not in the way that many fans envisioned. Laker nation was hoping that with Luka Dončić's addition to the roster mid-season, this team could have a real shot of winning a championship.
But instead of a parade down South Figueroa St beside Crypto.com Arena and the Larry O'Brien trophy in their hands, the Lakers now head home after a first round gentleman's sweep at the hands of the deep and talented Minnesota Timberwolves. In the end, this team's roster flaws were too much for a rookie coach to overcome.
Of course, now the name of the game for Rob Pelinka is going to be making strategic moves toward getting this squad to the level of a real championship-caliber team. So what does that mean? Who on this roster is considered untouchable, and who could be seen as trade fodder this summer?
The answer may not please a lot of Lakers fans. At the team's exit interviews on Thursday, Pelinka spoke and made it clear who LA's core group of players will be moving forward. "The level of confidence in Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Luka Dončić is at an all-time high still,” he said. “So no change in how we feel about those three guys."
Well, it's certainly understandable to have that viewpoint about Luka Dončić. Even LeBron, to a certain extent. But as for Reaves, it feels like this series against the Timberwolves proved that he should be a lower priority for this front office to bring back.
The Lakers don't appear ready to trade Austin Reaves
Reaves is under contract for one more season before he has a player option in the 2026-27 season, worth $14.8 million. And yes, I understand the Lakers' management thinking this way. Austin did have such a breakout season that they clearly feel like he's an untouchable at this point. But they're missing one crucial element with their analysis.
That element not being Reaves' overall talent level, as we see what he's capable of. But rather, his fit next to Dončić. Number 77 is extremely ball-dominant and needs to get a certain number of shots every single night to be effective. Continuing to put him and Reaves next to each other is going to once again create a "there's only one basketball" situation.
We saw this scenario play out plenty during the Lakers' five games against Minnesota in the last two weeks. Reaves had a rough series, in no small part due to him trying to operate as the backcourt teammate of a guy who needs the ball in his hands to be effective 99% of the time. On top of that, both Luka and Austin are extreme defensive liabilities.
The Athletic's Jovan Buha and Sam Amick confirmed that LA "would like to continue to build and grow around their core trio of Dončić, James and Reaves." This says all we need to know in terms of how highly the Lakers value Reaves, and that's bad news for their future championship hopes.
There's no telling if Reaves will extend in Los Angeles or not. The Lakers do have some sort of a championship window as long as Dončić is on the roster, but they need to take notes from the Dallas Mavericks and focus on building a roster centered exclusively around him. Keeping Reaves around next season does not help accomplish that.