RealGM

Kings in: Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura
Kings out: Keon Ellis, Malik Monk, Jonas Valanciunas

Lakers in: Keon Ellis, Malik Monk, Jonas Valanciunas
Lakers out: Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura

Why for Sacramento? Trading DeAaron Fox leaves them in need of a lead initiator which LaVine isn't great at and short a star player, and Reaves flashed star potential when playing as the sole initiator this past season. Reaves and Sabonis could be a killer offensive duo for the foreseeable future, and they have Devin Carter on a rookie deal to take over Keon Ellis' defensive guard role. Ellis is a fan favorite but he's more valuable to a contender and the Kings need more star potential to get back to even needing a guy like Ellis for the postseason. Hachimura is a quality wing depth piece.

Why for LA? Reaves is redundant with Luka and LeBron, so they trade him for what is essentially the ideal backcourt for Luka and LeBron plus a sorely needed big man. Monk is a poor man's Kyrie Irving who thrived with both Luka and LeBron, and Keon Ellis is the kind of defensive guard that has absolutely thrived over the last 2 postseasons and is in high demand for contending teams. The Lakers would get him cheap for a year and could extend him during the 2026 season - he could be the their version of Alex Caruso/Cason Wallace/Lu Dort/Derrick White/Jrue Holiday/Andrew Nembhard/NAW/etc (the main motivation behind this trade was getting Ellis on a contending team). Valanciunas isn't the perfect C for LAL but he's playable and would at least be quality depth.


Note: ESPN Trade Machine says this trade fails, but the salary difference is only ~$500k so I would imagine there is some minor tweak to be made to make this legal, or it could work in the new league year

I think Reaves is worth significantly more than this.

I think Reaves is the best player in this deal and will likely be making twice as much as Monk in 1 year.

All things considered, I don't see LAL downgrading in overall talent to get slightly better fits.

I don't see a reason for the Kings to consider this. Austin Reaves will be demand over 30 million dollars per year next off season,has struggled a lot in the playoffs and I strongly question if he's really a yearly 20/5/5 guy or if this was just a fluke season and he will crash back to earth next year. This trade as is for the Kings is a non starter and the Lakers don't have the assets to the bridge the gap.

facothomas22 wrote:I don't see a reason for the Kings to consider this. Austin Reaves will be demand over 30 million dollars per year next off season,has struggled a lot in the playoffs and I strongly question if he's really a yearly 20/5/5 guy or if this was just a fluke season and he will crash back to earth next year. This trade as is for Kings is a non starter for the Kings and the Lakers don't have the assets to the bridge the gap.

Reaves hasn't struggled a lot in the post-season. Compare his stats, they are similar.

Jonas and Demar
for
Rui + Vando + Kleber

Lakers save a bunch of money, get a backup scorer, get a center.

Kings get some forwards.

ReggiesKnicks wrote:

facothomas22 wrote:I don't see a reason for the Kings to consider this. Austin Reaves will be demand over 30 million dollars per year next off season,has struggled a lot in the playoffs and I strongly question if he's really a yearly 20/5/5 guy or if this was just a fluke season and he will crash back to earth next year. This trade as is for Kings is a non starter for the Kings and the Lakers don't have the assets to the bridge the gap.

Reaves hasn't struggled a lot in the post-season. Compare his stats, they are similar.

Here's Austin Reaves stats in the playoffs last year vs the Nuggets.

16.8/3.8/3.6, while shooting 48% shooting from the field, while shooting 27% from the 3pt line

Here's Austin Reaves stats in the playoffs vs the Timberwolves this year.

16.2/5.4/3.6, while shooting 41% on the field, while shooting 28% from the the 3pt line

There's evidence that strongly points towards Austin Reaves being a huge playoff dropper and unable to handle the physicality of the playoffs. That was the reason why nobody wanted D'Angelo Russell last off season despite of being coming off of being a 18/3/6 guy on better efficiency than Austin Reaves keep in mind. I'm supposed to believe Austin Reaves has all of this value around the NBA, while his own former teammate couldn't even get mid level exception level money in Free Agency last off season. I'm simply not buying that Austin Reaves has anywhere near the level value that lot of fans think he has.

Lakers need more coming back.

Maybe just Rui for Ellis+Jonas+SRP?

Kings and Lakers don’t make trades. For a new Sac GM to come in and make a deal with LA he’d have to win by a lot. This isn’t winning by a lot.

facothomas22 wrote:

ReggiesKnicks wrote:

facothomas22 wrote:I don't see a reason for the Kings to consider this. Austin Reaves will be demand over 30 million dollars per year next off season,has struggled a lot in the playoffs and I strongly question if he's really a yearly 20/5/5 guy or if this was just a fluke season and he will crash back to earth next year. This trade as is for Kings is a non starter for the Kings and the Lakers don't have the assets to the bridge the gap.

Reaves hasn't struggled a lot in the post-season. Compare his stats, they are similar.

Here's Ausitn Reaves stats in the playoffs last year vs the Nuggets

16.8/3.8/3.6, while shooting 48% shooting from the field, while shooting 27% from the 3pt line

Austin Reaves playoffs vs the Timberwolves this year.

16.2/5.4/3.6, while shooting 41% on the field, while shooting 28% from the the 3pt line

There's evidence that strongly point towards Austin Reaves being a huge playoff dropper and unable to handle they physicality of the playoffs. That the the reason why nobody wanted D'Angelo Russell last off season despite of being coming off of being a 18/3/6 guy. I'm supposed to believe Austin Reaves has all of this value around the NBA, while his own former teammate couldn't even get mid level exception level money in Free Agency last off season. I'm simply not buying Austin Reaves has anywhere near the level value that lot of fans think he has.

Oh we are cherry picking stats now? Because that is what you are doing.

48% FG% with 27% 3P% means his 2P% is really high and that his 3P% variance from a 4-game series isn't relevant

zimpy27 wrote:Lakers need more coming back.

Maybe just Rui for Ellis+Jonas+SRP?

Maybe I’m way off on Ellis but I pegged him as way more valuable than that. Career 43% from 3, 3.4 stocks/36 last year, 1.9 BPM (2nd on SAC), tenacious defender, low TOV player. We’ve seen his archetype absolutely shine in the playoffs recently, so maybe Reaves is an overpay but the Lakers need one of their own Caruso/Dort/Holiday/Nembhard type players next to Luka and a guy like that could be more valuable than Reaves in the PS for them

ReggiesKnicks wrote:

facothomas22 wrote:

ReggiesKnicks wrote:
Reaves hasn't struggled a lot in the post-season. Compare his stats, they are similar.

Here's Ausitn Reaves stats in the playoffs last year vs the Nuggets

16.8/3.8/3.6, while shooting 48% shooting from the field, while shooting 27% from the 3pt line

Austin Reaves playoffs vs the Timberwolves this year.

16.2/5.4/3.6, while shooting 41% on the field, while shooting 28% from the the 3pt line

There's evidence that strongly point towards Austin Reaves being a huge playoff dropper and unable to handle they physicality of the playoffs. That the the reason why nobody wanted D'Angelo Russell last off season despite of being coming off of being a 18/3/6 guy. I'm supposed to believe Austin Reaves has all of this value around the NBA, while his own former teammate couldn't even get mid level exception level money in Free Agency last off season. I'm simply not buying Austin Reaves has anywhere near the level value that lot of fans think he has.

Oh we are cherry picking stats now? Because that is what you are doing.

48% FG% with 27% 3P% means his 2P% is really high and that his 3P% variance from a 4-game series isn't relevant

I'm confused why we are ignoring the time Reaves played 16 playoff games and shot 44% from 3. Against the NBA champs, the reigning champs, and the 2nd best defense in the entire Association.

It's almost like 3-pt shooting over tiny samples has some variance, not Reaves sucks in the playoffs lol.

SNPA wrote:Kings and Lakers don’t make trades. For a new Sac GM to come in and make a deal with LA he’d have to win by a lot. This isn’t winning by a lot.

It is winning by a lot, Lakers shouldn't consider this.

Texas Chuck wrote:

ReggiesKnicks wrote:

facothomas22 wrote:

Here's Ausitn Reaves stats in the playoffs last year vs the Nuggets

16.8/3.8/3.6, while shooting 48% shooting from the field, while shooting 27% from the 3pt line

Austin Reaves playoffs vs the Timberwolves this year.

16.2/5.4/3.6, while shooting 41% on the field, while shooting 28% from the the 3pt line

There's evidence that strongly point towards Austin Reaves being a huge playoff dropper and unable to handle they physicality of the playoffs. That the the reason why nobody wanted D'Angelo Russell last off season despite of being coming off of being a 18/3/6 guy. I'm supposed to believe Austin Reaves has all of this value around the NBA, while his own former teammate couldn't even get mid level exception level money in Free Agency last off season. I'm simply not buying Austin Reaves has anywhere near the level value that lot of fans think he has.

Oh we are cherry picking stats now? Because that is what you are doing.

48% FG% with 27% 3P% means his 2P% is really high and that his 3P% variance from a 4-game series isn't relevant

I'm confused why we are ignoring the time Reaves played 16 playoff games and shot 44% from 3. Against the NBA champs, the reigning champs, and the 2nd best defense in the entire Association.

It's almost like 3-pt shooting over tiny samples has some variance, not Reaves sucks in the playoffs lol.

On top of that, Reaves was really thrust into a secondary creator role in 2023 and notably 2024 when he is best as a 2B/Good 3rd option offensively.

Statistically, we also expect to see a slight decline for every NBA player in the postseason, except for the very, very best (Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Late Prime Dirk), as the level of competition increases.

Austin Reaves is by every measure a 30-million-dollar player, and whichever team acquires him on his next contract will be getting a player worth the money at that rate.

Saints14 wrote:

zimpy27 wrote:Lakers need more coming back.

Maybe just Rui for Ellis+Jonas+SRP?

Maybe I’m way off on Ellis but I pegged him as way more valuable than that. Career 43% from 3, 3.4 stocks/36 last year, 1.9 BPM (2nd on SAC), tenacious defender, low TOV player. We’ve seen his archetype absolutely shine in the playoffs recently, so maybe Reaves is an overpay but the Lakers need one of their own Caruso/Dort/Holiday/Nembhard type players next to Luka and a guy like that could be more valuable than Reaves in the PS for them

You are correct. I'd rather have Ellis than Rui.

Saints14 wrote:

zimpy27 wrote:Lakers need more coming back.

Maybe just Rui for Ellis+Jonas+SRP?

Maybe I’m way off on Ellis but I pegged him as way more valuable than that. Career 43% from 3, 3.4 stocks/36 last year, 1.9 BPM (2nd on SAC), tenacious defender, low TOV player. We’ve seen his archetype absolutely shine in the playoffs recently, so maybe Reaves is an overpay but the Lakers need one of their own Caruso/Dort/Holiday/Nembhard type players next to Luka and a guy like that could be more valuable than Reaves in the PS for them

Well I had Ellis worth Rui effectively.

I think Ellis os good but also Rui is good.

LightTheBeam wrote:Jonas and Demar
for
Rui + Vando + Kleber

Lakers save a bunch of money, get a backup scorer, get a center.

Kings get some forwards.

This right here is the trade if the kings are trading with the Lakers.

zimpy27 wrote:

Saints14 wrote:

zimpy27 wrote:Lakers need more coming back.

Maybe just Rui for Ellis+Jonas+SRP?

Maybe I’m way off on Ellis but I pegged him as way more valuable than that. Career 43% from 3, 3.4 stocks/36 last year, 1.9 BPM (2nd on SAC), tenacious defender, low TOV player. We’ve seen his archetype absolutely shine in the playoffs recently, so maybe Reaves is an overpay but the Lakers need one of their own Caruso/Dort/Holiday/Nembhard type players next to Luka and a guy like that could be more valuable than Reaves in the PS for them

Well I had Ellis worth Rui effectively.

I think Ellis os good but also Rui is good.

Rui is a fine player. But he makes a lot more money and then is a UFA. There might be a team or two who values him more than Ellis, but my guess is Ellis has more overall value due to his role/contract.

Saints14 wrote:

zimpy27 wrote:Lakers need more coming back.

Maybe just Rui for Ellis+Jonas+SRP?

Maybe I’m way off on Ellis but I pegged him as way more valuable than that. Career 43% from 3, 3.4 stocks/36 last year, 1.9 BPM (2nd on SAC), tenacious defender, low TOV player. We’ve seen his archetype absolutely shine in the playoffs recently, so maybe Reaves is an overpay but the Lakers need one of their own Caruso/Dort/Holiday/Nembhard type players next to Luka and a guy like that could be more valuable than Reaves in the PS for them

Yeah to me Keon is the best player in the group. Not trading him for a couple journeymen guys.

Massive over pay on Lakers side of things, not way Lakers doing this.