News: On January 15, two Lakers players will be available for trade.
Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura of the Los Angeles Lakers are two NBA players that became trade eligible on January 15 after re-signing with their teams as restricted free agents this past summer. On December 15, the unrestricted free agents that the Lakers signed—a lengthy group that includes D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Christian Wood, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes—became eligible for trade.
With the exception of Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt, who signed extensions last summer and received one-year trade provisions as a result, every player on the Lakers roster is thus open to trade. With all of the possible trades the Lakers have been connected to in recent weeks, today is significant. Along with
Zach LaVine and Dejounte Murray are two talents in the league that the Lakers have previously been linked to and who could become available before the deadline. When the Lakers make a significant acquisition, they will have to figure out a method to pay the new player the same salary. Given this, it may be necessary to include Hachimura’s $17 million compensation and Reaves’ $13.5 million salary in the agreement.
Since Reaves and Hachimura are both gifted young players with value in the league, the Lakers will undoubtedly bring them up in trade talks if they want to acquire the upgrades they desire. Although the Lakers probably would rather trade for Reaves and Hachimura and keep both
Austin Reaves trade has not been addressed by the Lakers.
The Lakers and Hawks have initiated talks on a possible trade for Murray, who is a client of Klutch Sports and would be a good fit in L.A.’s backcourt. The Lakers haven’t addressed it yet, but parting ways with Reaves might be necessary to see that deal through to completion. It would take more than just Murray to convince the Lakers to part with Reaves, since he currently has one of the finest contracts in the league.