The Los Angeles Lakers might actually benefit immensely from moving on from Austin Reaves this offseason (either by letting him walk in free agency or a sign-and-trade), but it doesn't sound like that's a move the Lakers are considering.
By ridding themselves of Reaves, the Lakers could re-establish some cap space even with a LeBron James return likely in the cards. This would allow LA to go out and add some depth, not to mention prep themselves nicely (cap-wise) for a post-LeBron world, possibly beginning in 2027-28.
But then again, the Lakers have political reasons to hold onto Reaves: If the Lakers' front office wants to appease its franchise centerpiece, Luka Doncic, general manager Rob Pelinka might want to stand sturdy to his plan to keep Reaves.
That's because, by all accounts, Luka wants to keep playing with Reaves in LA. The Athletic's Sam Vecenie reminded fans of this on Tuesday during his Game Theory podcast.
"[It's clear that] Luka Doncic -- if you read kind of all of the reporting that has come out -- wants them to retain Austin Reaves."
Luka Doncic wants Lakers to keep Austin Reaves moving forward
Doncic enjoys playing alongside Reaves and it's obvious that the two have chemistry as teammates. That doesn't mean that Reaves and Doncic are a championship duo, however, and the Lakers would be banking on them to be if Pelinka gives Reaves a max deal this summer, which everyone assumes he will.
Basketball-wise, Luka and AR are two mediocre-to-bad defenders, which isn't a great core to build a team around, no matter how gifted these two are offensively. And once again, when it comes to the financial considerations, paying Reaves this offseason would do much to prevent the Lakers from adding significant and meaningful depth around Luka moving forward.
It feels like Luka would probably prefer Reaves over LeBron as his Robin in 2026-27, but that doesn't make it the smarter move for the Lakers. And by catering to Luka's preference (and keeping Reaves) rather than making the correct/difficult basketball and business decision, Pelinka could mess up the Lakers' future this summer.
Only a surprising LeBron James free agency outcome would undo Lakers' poor Austin Reaves decision
There's always the possibility that LeBron ends up elsewhere, but that feels increasingly unlikely. The LeBron-Luka-Reaves trio will once again run the Lakers in 2026-27, it appears, and that doesn't bode well for LA's true contention chances in the West.
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