The Los Angeles Lakers will enter the 2025 offseason with one player at the heart of a vast majority of discussions. It surprisingly won’t be franchise players Luka Doncic and LeBron James, but will instead be starting guard Austin Reaves.
Reaves has been at the heart of trade rumors and speculation pieces for months on end, and it’s unlikely that the noise will quiet down until some type of deal is finally struck.
Thankfully for Reaves, there’s a clear path through the distractions. It certainly won’t be easy, but the blueprint has been provided by a player who has overcome similar distractions to thrive with a championship on the line.
Though not quite a perfect comparison, the manner in which Jalen Williams has drowned out the noise should tell Reaves all he needs to know about how to move forward.
Williams earned All-Star honors during the 2024-25 regular season, but trade speculation echoed behind every door. The conversations grew louder once the postseason began, with many pointing to an underwhelming Round 2 performance in 2024 as a display that he was destined to repeat.
Instead, Williams has silenced his critics with a series of championship-caliber performances that have made it almost impossible to justify the suggestion of a trade.
In many respects, Reaves and Williams are in similar situations. They’re playing alongside the past two scoring champions in Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are members of talented three-headed offensive monsters, and have a combination of skill and untapped potential on their side.
Much like Williams was coming off of a disappointing postseason display in 2024, Reaves is now in the same predicament in 2025.
Reaves finished the Lakers’ first-round exit averaging 16.2 points and 3.6 assists on .411/.319/.857 shooting. Beyond the numbers, he never seemed to get anything going in his first postseason alongside Doncic.
It was a discouraging display for a Lakers team that only has so much time to figure out how to appeal to their new franchise player before he potentially becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
Thankfully for Reaves, Williams has shown him the perfect path to redemption. He’s certainly experienced his ups and downs, but when all else has failed, the Thunder star has committed to playing defense and creating for his teammates.
If Reaves finds a way to excel in those two areas, a new contract and a long-term fit alongside Doncic could be secured and established.
As far as earning a hefty new salary is concerned, Williams’ most recent showings reveal how far Reaves has to go. Williams has scored at least 26 points in each of the past three games of the NBA Finals, including a 40-point eruption the last time out.
If Reaves isn’t traded this summer, he can look no further than how Williams has solidified his place in the Thunder’s future plans for guidance on how to silence the rumor mill
