NBA insider reveals Lakers set sky-high price for any Austin Reaves trade

The Los Angeles Lakers remain passive to trade Austin Raves and would only consider moving him for a superstar upgrade.

"The Lakers could have had Kyrie if they were willing to give up Austin, and they said no. They kept Austin out of the Luka trade,” Jovan Buha, an NBA reporter, revealed on his recent podcast.

“They’ve had opportunities, Dejounte Murray, Zach LaVine, De’Aaron Fox, and Trae Young, where the Lakers could have potentially traded for an All-Star-level player. Were they willing to give up Austin Reaves? They’ve continually said no,” Buha added.

On the question of why trading Reaves would be a daunting task, Buha explained that the Lakers would need to replace his ball-handling and playmaking alongside Luka Doncic.

“If you trade Austin, you need to replace that. You need to replace the ball-handling and the playmaking. Take Austin off of his team, and there’s so much on Luka, and to a lesser degree Collin Sexton, to run the show,” Buha noted.

Reaves inked a four-year seal valued at $180 million with the Lakers this summer after declining his $14.9 million player option.

The 28-year-old averaged career highs of 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 51 games last season.

Before he signed with the Lakers, Reaves generated significant buzz across the NBA.

The Detroit Pistons were ready to offer Austin Reaves a big free-agent deal if the Lakers had been willing to let him go, but reports suggest Reaves ended up choosing to stay in the L.A. Lakers.