It's not often that so many contending NBA teams are desperate for guard help as the trade deadline approaches. But as we close in on February, the Pistons, Raptors, Heat, Timberwolves, Rockets, and Warriors could all use some extra help in the backcourt.
The Lakers, meanwhile, are all set with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Backcourt depth is another question, but Rob Pelinka owes the Mavericks a thank-you note (along with the pile he's already sent) for allowing the Lakers to avoid the mess of the point guard market at this deadline.
Point guard might be the hardest position to trade for, because fit is everything. The Lakers, despite having plenty of problems of their own right now, don't have to worry about ball-handling duties or scoring from their backcourt.
Trae Young, Ja Morant, and LaMelo Ball are all monstrously talented point guards, but all come with serious questions about their productivity (and ability to stay on the court). To have each of those players come up in trade rumors and the Lakers not even being mentioned as a suitor is a pretty nice feeling for fans in LA.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves keep Lakers out of guard purgatory
I don't want to name names, but a prominent agent and talking head said recently on their podcast that shouldn't exist that the Lakers should trade Austin Reaves. Or that they should trade Luka Doncic. I'm not sure, I fell out of my chair because the rage within me caused a temporary blackout.
Okay, that's a tad dramatic, but I do choose to ignore any talk of trading either Doncic or Reaves. I don't want to hear the word "redundancy" again for the rest of my life.
Sometimes, things are actually good how they are and don't require change. That's the case with the Lakers' backcourt! Doncic and Reaves are both unbelievable players who feed off each other very well! The alternative is to have a worse player at one of those positions, and that's exactly what's leading all of these other teams to search far and wide for backcourt help in the first place!
It's funny — the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic, he's been exactly what fans hoped he would be, and now people are talking about how he and Reaves isn't a viable setup.
If you would rather cheer for a team that's currently thinking, Hm, should we trade for Tre Jones to give us 25 minutes per game, then I won't stop you! But personally, I think having an All-NBA talent and a future multi-time All-Star in the backcourt is a better option. Tough to tell, though.