Lakers Must Trade Austin Reaves for 3rd Star to Compete for Title amid NBA Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers have less than two months to decide what they can add ahead of the NBA trade deadline to get them on a championship track.

It appears increasingly likely that it will take more than depth pieces to put this team into title contention. The Lakers are 3-7 over their last 10 games, held back by a bottom-five defense and not good enough to overcome that weakness on offense.

They just might need a third star to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis and really get things turned around. Acquiring said star would likely require them to adjust a long-held stance on Austin Reaves.

The Lakers have been "very reluctant" to include Reaves in any trade talks and still view that as "a non-starter," The Athletic's Sam Amick relayed on a recent appearance of Buha's Block (beginning at the 20-minute mark).

It's fine for the Lakers to set a high trade price on Reaves. It's even understandable that they wouldn't want to let him go.

He isn't a star, but he's the kind of player who can star in a support role. He is easy for others to play with, since he can make plays for himself and others without dominating the ball and adds value away from it as a shooter and cutter.

He's also only in his fourth NBA season, so even though his 26th birthday is behind him, his best basketball might still be ahead.

He also happens to have one of the Association's best non-rookie-scale contracts. He makes $13 million this season and will earn $13.9 million for the next, per Spotrac. He also has a $14.9 million player option for 2026-27. All told, that could be $41.8 million for three seasons. There are 24 players with a base salary north of that number for just this season, including Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine and Fred VanVleet.

The Lakers have plenty of reasons, in other words, to not just give Reaves away.

No one is expecting them do that, though. The wonder is whether they'd give him up for an impact addition, and if the answer is anything other than a resounding Yes!, then the front office might simply not see a realistic path to a championship.

Because an impact player probably isn't coming without Reaves going. Yes, the Lakers have two valuable future firsts to put in a trade, but other win-now shoppers have draft picks at their disposal, too, plus plenty more sweeteners. L.A., meanwhile, can only expand its offer with stalling prospects (Jalen Hood-Schifino), underperforming veterans (D'Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent) or players who might be worth more to this team than to others in a trade (Rui Hachimura).

Two picks and salary-filler isn't bringing back Jimmy Butler. Maybe that gets a Brandon Ingram or Zach LaVine, but would either of those players instantly push this club into contention? That feels incredibly optimistic.

The Lakers need a legitimate difference-maker. Davis maybe can't carry the load he shouldered early in this season. James might struggle to pick up the slack, which isn't a criticism but rather an observation that his 40th(!) birthday is coming soon. Asking these two to lead a title trek on their own feels like too much.

The Lakers need a third star, and someone who lands closer to a 1A-1B-1C type of partnership than a clear third banana behind Davis and James. Getting that player could be tricky in this market, but they should be ready to pounce as soon as one surfaces.

They should also be ready to let go of Reaves in that scenario, because they aren't bringing back an elite without him.