NBA
Lakers Were Unwilling To Trade Austin Reaves In A Deal For Kyrie Irving From Brooklyn
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated07 Feb 2023
When Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, many thought he would be heading to the LA Lakers. Brooklyn’s GM Joe Tsai spitefully would not send Irving to the Lakers and a deal was never made. However, that was not the only reason a deal wasn’t struck. It was reported that the Nets valued Austin Reaves and wanted him included in the trade package for Irving. The Lakers were never going to let that happen.
Reaves has missed the last 16 games in a row for the Lakers with a hamstring injury and last played on 1/4 vs the Miami Heat. LeBron James and the Lakers had serious interest in trading for Irving but letting Reaves go in the process was not an option. That’s ultimately why a deal never happened between Brooklyn and LA.
Reports say that the Lakers are still in search of a some three-point shooing help and they’ll try and make a deal happen before Thursday. NBA betting sites have the Lakers at (+2500) to win the Finals this season.
I asked Austin Reaves about being in trade rumors and what it means to hear that the Lakers didn’t want to include him.
His response: “It means a lot. I want to be here. I want to be a part of what we got going on.” pic.twitter.com/zLdJVPN4Y0
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 6, 2023
Austin Reaves “feels great” and is probable for tonight’s game vs the Thunder
In 36 games played for the Lakers this season, Reaves is averaging (10.8) points, (3.1) rebounds, and (2.2) assists. He also brings the ability to consistently knock down three-pointers at a 36 percent clip this season. The Lakers have the 27th worst team three-point percentage this season only hitting at (33.6) percent.
The second-year pro said it “means a lot” that the Lakers kept to their word that they were not going to trade him. Reaves noted how he knows this league is a business and that every team works to get better every day and sometimes that means unexpected trades. He happy to be with the Lakers and said “I want to be apart of what we got going on”.
He’s a versatile wing that brings effort and consistency shooting the ball. Something the Lakers need a lot of. If all goes well, he’ll make his return to the Lakers tonight after a 16 game absence with a hamstring injury. In his last game he had 11/5/3 on 32 minutes played.
