Lakers Must Pass On Chris Paul Amid Austin Reaves' Injury, Latest NBA Trade Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers got some troubling news on Friday, when an MRI revealed a Grade 2 gastrocnemius strain that will keep Austin Reaves out of the lineup for at least four weeks.

Reaves' injury couldn't come at a worse time. After Los Angeles' hot start to the season, the team has slumped, despite getting LeBron James back and having Luka Dončić playing some of the best ball of his career.

With the Lakers now sitting at 20-10, treading water during Reaves' absence may not be enough—if L.A. hopes to challenge for a championship this season.

Kevin O'Connor believes that Lakers trades are now inevitable.

One name that is likely to come up in Lakers trade chatter is Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul.

The Clippers announced in early December that they were "parting ways" with Paul. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line recently reported that they "have pledged" to help Paul land with a preferred destination, though he remains with the team. That could mean trading Paul directly to a team he'd like to join or dealing him to a team willing to make him an unrestricted free agent.

Paul and James, of course, are friends, and Paul's veteran-minimum $2.3 million cap hit would be easy to mesh with Los Angeles' current cap situation—the Lakers are $1.1 million under the first tax apron.

However, Fischer also reported that Paul isn't expected to land with the Lakers, largely because the 40-year-old wouldn't fit the Lakers' long-term plan for Dončić and Reaves:

"Sources say that the Lakers are not considering Paul as a potential in-season addition despite the many years of Paul-to-the-Lakers speculation that have swirled leaguewide. Remember that our publisher reported on Dec. 14 that the Lakers have generally been very intentional in targeting players under 30 since the offseason when addressing various roster needs."

The Lakers would indeed be wise to avoid Paul, and his age is only part of the equation.

If Rob Pelinka and the rest of L.A.'s decision makers do execute a significant trade at the February 5 deadline, they'll probably look to add a younger player who can play alongside Dončić and (probably) Reaves for multiple years. Naturally, Paul doesn't fit that mold.

But what about the short-term? Surely the Lakers could use additional depth while they try to navigate Reaves' absence.

They could, but Paul wouldn't help much in that area either. He was averaging a modest 2.9 points for the Clippers before he was sent home, and he hasn't averaged double-digits since his 2022-23 season with the Phoenix Suns. He wouldn't replicate Reaves' production, and he wouldn't really complement the rest of the roster either.

The Lakers' biggest issue this season has been inefficient defense. While Paul was a terrific defender early in his career, he hasn't shined on that end of the court in nearly a decade. Offensively, L.A. doesn't need another ball-handling point guard with Dončić and James on the roster.

Fans will always wonder what may have transpired had then-commissioner David Stern not vetoed the 2011 trade that would have sent Paul to the Lakers. Adding him to this team at this point in his career, though, would practically be wasting a roster spot.

The Lakers intentionally kept a roster spot open heading into the season so that they'd have flexibility at the trade deadline. They'd find more value in maintaining that open spot than in adding Paul.