Lakers Trade Proposal Nets $197.2 Million PG for Austin Reaves, 1st-Round Pick

 

Although it seems like the Los Angeles Lakers have failed in free agency, the trade market is still up

for business for the next several months.

With D’Angelo Russell and his $18.7 million contract, Los Angeles can construct a trade for a high-

impact player around a pair of first-round selections in 2029 and 2031.

In addition to forward Cam Johnson from Brooklyn and guard Austin Reaves from Los Angeles,

the Cavaliers also acquired forward Rui Hachimura. In the meanwhile, the Nets would get L.A.’s

first-round selection in 2029 along with Russell, shooting guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, and big man

Christian Wood from the Lakers.

Los Angeles has to give up a first-round selection and five players for the pitch, which is a lot for

Garland and LeVert. On closer examination, though, it doesn’t harm Los Angeles as much as one

might believe.

With Reaves as maybe the third-best player on the Lakers roster right now and the extraordinary

value of the four-year, $54 million contract that will see him play until at least 2025–2026 before a

player option on the agreement’s final season, Reaves’ loss is the one real deal breaker. Reaves is

only 26 years old, and Los Angeles would be reluctant to deal with him at such a low cost to the

organization so early in his career.

However, considering Garland’s value as a previous All-Star whose abilities Cleveland reduced two

seasons ago when it acquired Donovan Mitchell in its own deal with the Utah Jazz, Swartz sought

to argue that the juice on this specific trade proposal would be worth the squeezing.

Swartz added, “Garland is the perfect candidate to take over [the Lakers’] point guard duties.”

“Having Garland go to Los Angeles and collaborate with other clients like [Lebron] James and

[Anthony] Davis should make Agent Rich Paul very happy.

provide the Lakers with a second scorer and facilitator to lessen the load on James, who will turn

40 soon. For a club that [the league presently expects] to be $1.2 million over the second apron

luxury tax line, the move would also remove $2.2 million from LA’s books.

Austin Reaves May Be Replaced by Darius Garland in the Lakers’ Starting Lineup

Even though Reaves has been an excellent player for the Lakers these last several seasons, Garland

has demonstrated a far better NBA upside.

According to Basketball Reference, Garland reached career highs in 2021–22, averaging 21.7

points, 8.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, which helped him earn an All-Star

selection. In the two years since, all of those numbers have decreased. But Garland’s output

declined at the same time as Mitchell joined Cleveland’s backcourt. Garland’s downturn was

further compounded by his broken jaw, which kept him out of 25 regular-season games last season.

Throughout his 82 games with Los Angeles last season, Reaves posted career highs of 15.9 points,

5.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. However, in his three years in the NBA, he has never scored as much

as Garland or been as much of a facilitator as the Cleveland guard.

Reaves is older than Garland, 24, who is 24 years old, and has a lower career usage percentage

(17.1%) than Reaves. Consequently, Garland will be able to relieve James of some of the ball

handling and playmaking responsibilities during the grind that is the regular season. Additionally,

he shoots more from beyond the 3-point arc than Reaves does (38.4% on 5.8 tries per game vs

36.5% on 3.9 attempts per game).