The Los Angeles Lakers are falling back to earth a bit as they await LeBron James’ return, but the Purple and Gold continue to prove they have a chance to win it all in 2025-26 with Luka Doncic in shape and putting up MVP numbers.
Would Rob Pelinka and Co. be willing to give up their most promising rising star, Austin Reaves, to land a three-time All-NBAer who’s made a Finals as Doncic’s sidekick and won it all as James’s?
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn doesn’t believe the Lakers would agree to give up Reaves, who is due for a contract that can be as high as $240 million during 2026 free agency, for injured Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving.
Quinn was speaking in a larger sense about Irving’s future now that the Mavs have fired Nico Harrison on Tuesday. Harrison’s departure probably doesn’t bode well for the two players he gave up assets for, Irving and Anthony Davis.
“(The Mavs are) not going to trade Irving just to trade him. They’d have to get something of substance. The number of teams willing to give that to them is going to be small. Irving may not be on a max contract but he’s old, expensive and plays the most crowded position in the NBA. We’re not doing another round of Lakers rumors. Austin Reaves is too good to justify bringing in another high-level guard whether LeBron James and Luka Dončić are interested in reuniting with their old sidekick or not,” Quinn wrote.
Reaves is a bit less complementary than Irving as a far less efficient shooter and, at 27, isn’t that much younger. He is who he is as a player, but at the same time, so is Irving. For Kyrie, that means sitting out plenty of games for maintenance purposes.
With enough depth, the Lakers can overcome this, leaning on Doncic to win enough games during the regular season to give Irving and James enough rest to turn it up when it matters in the postseason.
They might not have enough depth to pull that off, though. Why fix what isn’t broken, anyway?
