Chris
Trade rumors continue to swirl around the Los Angeles Lakers amid their 10-8 start.
Their intended approach to improving the roster has shifted quite a bit from last season. Then, they were aggressive adding to the roster even before the trade deadline. This year, however, they are expected to take a different approach with one target, in particular.
“I expect [the Lakers] to express interest in Zach LaVine,” The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back” on November 28. “If you’re the Lakers and you’re out there trying to pursue a third star – whether that’s Zach LaVine, anyone else that becomes available – the player that teams will ask about is Austin Reaves, 100%
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham named Reaves the starting shooting guard during the offseason. That was after Reaves re-signed in restricted free agency on a four-year, $53.8 million contract. But, in an effort to shake things up for the team and player amid a slow start, Ham sent Reaves back to the reserve role he thrived in last season.
Reaves averaged 13.1 points on 52.3% true shooting over the Lakers’ first eight games of this season, all of which he started. The Lakers were 3-5 in those contests. Over the last 10 games, however, Reaves has averaged 14.5 points on 63.2% true shooting off of the bench
