Lakers urged to trade $53 million superstar devastatingly exposed by Thunder in playoffs

The Los Angeles Lakers must trust their gut this offseason and make decisions they feel will benefit the franchise in the long run. 

Some will be easier than others, but at the end of the day, it’ll be up to the 17-time NBA champions to do right by their franchise point guard, Luka Doncic.

ClutchPoints’ Enzo Flojo believes that it would be in Los Angeles’ best interest to move on from their 27-year-old superstar, who, in Flojo's mind, was devastatingly exposed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.

“This next conversation will be painful for Lakers fans because (Austin) Reaves remains one of the franchise’s most beloved players (assuming he stays on for the final year of his current contract),” Enzo wrote Wednesday. “Too bad emotional attachment cannot outweigh basketball reality.”

“The Thunder series exposed Reaves in devastating fashion. Offensively, he still delivered flashes of scoring punch. His 27-point performance in Game 4 showed his offensive instincts remain valuable. However, playoff basketball is ultimately about survivability on both ends of the floor.”

“Oklahoma City relentlessly hunted him defensively every chance they got. Trading Reaves while his value remains high could allow the Lakers to pursue an elite perimeter defender capable of spacing the floor without requiring constant offensive touches.”

Although Reaves contributed 20.0 points per game against the Thunder, he was inefficient due to poor shot selection and an inability to play within the flow of each game. 

To make matters worse, Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell had his way with Reaves in isolation situations, routinely making it look as though the Oklahoma product was unsure of himself on the defensive end of the floor.

Mitchell averaged 22.5 points per game in the series, signaling that Reaves struggled to contain the 23-year-old guard when on an island. The Lakers could look to cut ties with Reaves via a sign-and-trade. 

However, based on Doncic’s recent comments regarding a potential deal involving Reaves (he doesn’t want Los Angeles to trade Reaves for Giannis Antetokounmpo, or any asset for that matter), it won’t be a walk in the park.

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