A first-round playoff exit with home-court advantage can really shake an organization. Losing that series in only five games only intensifies the rattling. In the Los Angeles Lakers’ case, losing 12 of their last 14 playoff games is enough to drive the otherwise thoroughly spoiled fan base absolutely insane. Now, entering the first full season of the Luka Doncic era, a fairly fierce debate has broken out internally on which steps to take this summer.
First and foremost, Doncic isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. That is a given. LeBron James has a player option for next season that he’s considered likely to pick up and has a no-trade clause, so his name can be written in ink on the roster as well. From there, things get very dicey, very quickly, as, according to league and team sources, a fierce debate has broken out about what to do with Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
To be clear, both are extremely well-liked internally. No Lakers decision maker is looking ahead to the day when they can finally rid themselves of two of the better moves any team has made on the margins in recent years. Still, this roster desperately needs a facelift and, because the Lakers only have one first-round pick and a few mid-tier expiring contracts to work with, the sense around the league is, in order to take the steps forward the Lakers are hoping to, they’ll have to part with actual contributors on top of the little draft capital at their disposal.
According to sources around the league, the Lakers are not seriously considering any trade offer for Reaves that doesn’t land them an All-Star who fits with Doncic long-term. Those players aren’t really on the market right now and tend to make more money than Reaves, which means that team would have to absorb dead money for this season, too, then be willing to risk a player they probably like for Reaves, who might leave after next season as a free agent.
While the Lakers are certainly more open to trading Hachimura than Reaves, there are plenty of important voices who would like to keep him for a variety of reasons. From a basketball standpoint, he was one of the few players who performed close to expectations in that ugly series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he did so while dealing with that lingering knee issue. He’s also arguably the most athletic player under contract next season.
Another factor the Lakers are weighing internally on Hachimura is James’ eventual departure potentially leaving them fully stripped down at a position of strength right now.
In a vacuum, it makes sense to keep the dynamic creator making just under $14 million next year. In a vacuum, of course, the Lakers should work to keep a big, physical wing who also hit 41% of his 3-point attempts last season on decent volume. The problem is, for far too long, Rob Pelinka has over-indexed on vacuum-sealed decisions and wound up with imbalanced rosters.
Reaves was fantastic last regular season before and after the Lakers landed Doncic, and has improved every year he’s been in the league. He was also consistently overwhelmed by Minnesota’s length and athleticism, and will never be the disruptive defender at the point of attack that a team needs next to Doncic. Whenever Reaves signs his next deal, he and Doncic could make up more than half of the cap combined. In this punitive cap system, a pairing like that has to fit seamlessly, and, frankly, there are valid concerns at play here
No matter how many times Hachimura lights up the camera with that smile and LA hand-signal, there’s no getting around him, Dorian Finney-Smith, Doncic, and James all defending the same position. If trading Hachimura lands the Lakers a starter at a position of need, they absolutely have to pull the trigger.
The Lakers absolutely cannot risk Reaves, their most valuable trade asset, potentially leaving after next year and losing him for nothing, given what they could get for him right now. Same goes for Hachimura, whose contract is also up after next year. If, for whatever reason, the Lakers decide to keep this “core” intact and lose either, let alone both, to free agency, they’d feel that series of decisions for years to come.
Many in the organization understand that notion and are pushing to make improvements to the roster sooner rather than later, even if it might cost one or two of the team’s more popular players. Others would prefer to wait and see with this group after getting a training camp together. Some league sources have even wondered whether the Lakers might keep their powder until James is no longer on their books so as to have proper ammunition to bring in Doncic’s co-star for the future.
No matter what path the Lakers head down, though, this summer will have ramifications that the Lakers will feel for years to come. If the Lakers hope to turn their recent postseason record back in the right direction, they’ll have to more seriously consider some difficult decisions they’ve otherwise been avoiding.
