Before the 2025–26 season begins, JJ Redick needs to start Marcus Smart and stagger Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as point guards to restore the balance between offense and defense for the Lakers’ starters and bench.
While Redick is going to give Reaves and Hachimura the opportunity to prove they should still start, he also realizes the Lakers dramatically need better defense from their starters and better offense from their backups. Last season, the Lakers’ starters were the fifth worst defensive lineup in the NBA, ranked 25th out of 30 teams in defense, while their bench was the third worst offensive bench, ranked 28th out of 30 teams in offense.
Starting Smart in place of Reaves, moving Austin to the bench as its lead guard, and staggering him and Luka so one was always on the court would be the simplest way to upgrade the starers’ defense and bench’s offense.
Starting Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Deandre Ayton with Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, Jake LaRavia, Adou Thiero, and Jaxson Hayes as backups would be the Lakers’ ideal rotation.
Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton would be huge defensive upgrades as starters over Austin Reaves and Jaxson Hayes, whose moves to reserves should transform the 28th worst bench into an offensive juggernaut.
Hopefully, a lighter, quicker, and faster Luka will also give the Lakers’ starters a boost defensively while the young legs and athleticism of LaRavia and Thiero could help the non-starting lineups be better offensively.
So let’s take a closer look at why the Lakers should move Reaves to the bench rather than Hachimura, how not starting could impact Austin’s Reaves’ future with team, and what happens with Rui with no extension.
Why Reaves Needs To Move To Bench?
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The Lakers are planning to begin the season with an offense-first Luka Doncic/Austin Reaves’ backcourt in the hope they can duplicate the success the Mavericks had with Doncic/Brunson and Doncic/Irving backcourts.
Now that the Lakers locked up Luka Doncic, their next challenge is to figure out what to do with Austin Reaves, who declined 4-year $89 million deal but will be eligible this summer for 5-year $247 million extension.
Reaves wants to stay with the Lakers and is seeking at least $30 million per year. Pelinka’s decision to start him is probably an effort to find out as quickly as possible whether a Doncic/Reaves backcourt could succeed.
To be honest, a Doncic/Reaves backcourt probably won’t work for the Lakers as well as the Doncic/Brunson and Doncic/Irving backcourts did for the Mavs because L.A. does not have Dallas’ front court talent and depth.
Pelinka would be smarter to use the first half of the season to see if starting Smart alongside Doncic could improve the starting lineup’s defense and having Reaves run the point on the bench could boost the bench’s offense.
Bottom line, a Doncic/Smart backcourt paired with Austin Reaves-led bench has a better chance to become a legitimate championship rotation than a Doncic/Reaves backcourt paired with a Marcus Smart-led bench.
The Lakers need to make a consolidation trade before the trade deadline and must determine whether there is a viable long-term role on Luka Doncic championship team for a $30 million per year Austin Reaves.
Austin Reaves needs to begin the season as lead guard off the bench to improve the offense of the Lakers’ bench and to allow Marcus Smart to start next to Luka Doncic to improve the defense of the starting lineup.
How Bench Move Impacts Reaves’ Future?
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It won’t be easy selling Austin Reaves that his best role with the Lakers would be coming off the bench and being staggered with Luka Doncic so that one of them was always on court the full 48 minutes of each game.
Here’s where Mark Walter’s billions and Austin Reaves’ love for the Lakers come in with a deal that works for everybody. Austin goes to the bench but gets starter minutes and a 4-year extension starting at $30 million per year.
While Reaves is not worth a max contract, $30 million per year will be less than half of what superstars will be making and Austin is the exact kind of player who’s willing to make personal sacrifices for the good of his team.
Frankly, I would not be completely surprised if Austin Reaves were to volunteer to turbo charge the bench’s weak offense so that Marcus Smart could start next to Luka and transform the staring lineup’s poor defense.
There’s probably no player on the team today who appreciates being a Los Angeles Laker more than Austin Reaves or who would be more eager and willing to make individua sacrifices for the success and good of the team.
At any rate, the Lakers most important goal right now is to find the ‘right’ starters to optimize Luka. By the end of training camp, it will be obvious that Marcus Smart should start and Austin Reaves should lead the bench.
While the Lakers will not be able to announce the extension until next summer when Reaves becomes eligible, there is no way with Walter’s wealth that the Lakers are going to lose another young star over money.
The Lakers and Austin Reaves both need to sacrifice to build a legitimate championship caliber roster. The Lakers have to be willing to pay Reaves what he deserves and Reaves has to be willing to come off the bench.
What Happens To Rui With No Extension?
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Despite playing well in last year’s playoffs, offense-first Rui Hachimura did not receive an extension offer from the Lakers, who reportedly also were looking to trade for an elite defensive small forward like Andrew Wiggins.
So while Rui will retain his starting small forward position to begin the season, he will be under extreme pressure to perform well, especially on defense, or suddenly find himself on another team come the deadline.
Hachimura’s problem is he is not quick or fast enough to stay with the dynamic athletic wing scorers a small forward has to defend in the West. He should be playing power forward, but that’s LeBron James’ position.
A Lakers fan favorite, Rui Hachimura is primarily a one-way offense-first player who needs to be replaced by a two-way defense-first starting small forward via a consolidation trade before the February 5th deadline.
Realistically, there’s no way the Lakers are going to give Hachimura an extension since he already earns $18 million per year. The Lakers cannot afford to let Rui walk for nothing as a free agent so they will trade him.
With an $18 million expiring contract, Rui should be highly coveted by teams looking to elevate their roster with an elite 3-point shooter who has excellent size and athleticism and is just entering the prime of his career.
Ideally, the Lakers will reopen discussions with the Heat once we get into December and January about trading Hachimura, Vincent, and Knecht for Wiggins, who should be the Lakers’ #1 starting small forward target.
Bottom line, the end of Rui Hachimura’s stint with the Lakers is rapidly approaching. Hopefully, Rui will enjoy a strong start to the season and be the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade with the Heat for Andrew Wiggins.
OK, a lot to un pack here.
It Doesn’t Matter How Rich Mark Walters Is
Let’s start with the obvious: it doesn’t matter how rick Mark Walters is, there’s a salary cap. The Lakers, like every other team that has a billionaire owner(s), will cut cost to stay under the cap for more than a season. If that. Having draft picks frozen for a team that waits for the years to tick by so we can get access to 1 solitary pick makes zero sense any kind of way you look at it. The Lakers will, smartly, see what the market will bear for Reaves and Rui and make a choice. They will easily let both walk without compensation just like we let Randle and Clarkson walk for nothing because the Laker brass has ultimate faith in the brand luring top tier talent like it always has been able to.
Why Reaves Won’t Come Off the Bench
I’m not sure what tea leaves you’re reading but the ones I’m looking at say that the Lakers are all in on Reaves taking another step forward at 27 years old. He’s already done everything they’ve asked for him and that resulted in fair compensation. I won’t pencil a number that Reaves will get signed for because it could be straight max money. Might not be with the Lakers but a team like Miami can clear the books and offer him max money and a starting role on team with clear championship culture and defensive stalwart to help him out. Same with Boston , Milwaukee.
All this “Reaves LOVES the Lakers SO MUCH” rah rah jazz isn’t worth the time to type it when the money comes into play. You don’t throw away $10 million or more dollars because you like the team that gave you a shot. Maybe $5 mil. Maybe. But this is Austin’s best shot at creating what can only be described as a generational wealth moment for his family. To say otherwise…you’re just fooling yourself.
Now, there is one area where I think Reaves and his agent would more than happy to work with the Lakers and that would be to facilitate a sign and trade to a team that is willing to offer him the most money next summer. I do believe there is that level of good will between the two camps. But throwing money away good will? I don’t think so.
There are basketball reasons, too. While there is some validity to the idea that we need to better spread out the offense and the defense and create more balanced rotations that doesn’t necessarilly mean changing up the starting five. Factor in SMart’s injuries the last couple seasons and his streaky as all get out threepoint shooting and you can see a flip side of the coin where the defense of one player doesn’t make up for the fact that we’ll be cvreating a 5 on 4 situation at the other end of the court.
The last basketball reason is Coach Reddick. This is a scenario where trust is a HUGE factor. I know all the winderful things Austin and JJ have said about one another to the media but let’s, for a moment, just consider that kind of everyday NBA niceties that get said to reporters because what else is someone going to say? “I don’t know…isn’t he a podcaster?!” “Well…he IS undrafted so…” That shit is never said in public. So let’s look at a fact, instead.
Fact: Coach Reddick straight paniced in the NBA playoffs, round one and went as far away from what worked in the regular season as can be imagined. That’s not to say that playing Goodwin and Hayes would have altered the outcome of that series, but at least the players would have seen a coach that trusts in the guys that got the team to where it was. Instead key players got benched and the series was over by game 3, for all intents and purposes. If I’m Reaves and someone like Pat Riley or Gregg Popovich or Phil Jackson is asking me to come off the bench (like Riles did with Coop, Pop did Ginobli and Phil did with Lamar Odom) that’s one thing. But if Captain Panic comes asking I’m going to be dubious. At best. More likely insulted. That is not a path the Lakersd want to tread because, given the assets at hand, we can’t really afford to mismanage any of them. Marcus Smart is not an asset, by the way, he’s a hope and a dream. We hope it works out and dream it works out really well.
Lastly, on the topic of Rui Hachimura, I’m not 100% certain he gets the starting spot. I think that will be a hotly contested poition between Rui, Jake and Vando.
If Vando hits shots and is scoring in camp and still defending at a high level I could see him getting the nod. We’re talking 10-12 ppg here, nothing crazy. His defense is that game changing, IMO. Needs to be available and score, though.
If Jake shows he can defend better and bigger than his size (kind of unlikely but you never know) it’s easy to see him with his touch, passing and all around game could be like a talented version of Luke Walton back in the day. Can’t get bullied in the post or on switches, though.
Is there a world where Reddick starts Smart over Rui? …I kinda doubt it. Like Reaves there is an onus on the Lakers to keep the relationship cordial and positive as Rui is a likely as Reaves to re-up with LA or be a aprt of a sign and trade. That requires buy-in from the player side of the equation.
Rui, on paper, is the best candidate to start at the 3. I thjink the Lakers are betting a lot on Ayton being the missing piece on defense. Which is a mighty risky bet but not a crazy one. I think that Reaves would have to either be hurt or gutter ball terrible to get knocked out of the starting five. Rui could lose his spot in camp if someone shows up hungry enough and can put it all together on the court.
In conclusion, there will be no consolidation trade. This concludes my TED Talk.
I would like to see Smart play first before inserting him into the starting line up. Besides you do a lot of things through rotations. I mean having offensive firepower out there for 5 or 6 minutes at the beginning of the 1st and 3rd quarter isn’t going to kill you. We fell behind early more often when we had AD and Max than we did after Luka trade. Even in the playoffs it was the 4th quarters that killed us because the starters were overplayed.
As far as Rui is concerned, I don’t know where this not bull crap is coming from. Rui had no trouble staying in front of people. Especially with that 7′ 2″ wingspan. He was even assigned to Ant Man at times in the playoffs and did as well as one can expect to do against a super star. The knock on Rui and his defense has always been his rotations. He had a tendancy to get lost in the rotations. That is something he improved on this last year. He’s not Lou Dort but he is solid. We don’t have the assets to land an ellite shut down wing defender anyway.
Vanderbilt will never be a shooter….at best…maybe 40% overall and 32% from 3…….defensively he has always been inconsistent (for a defensive specialist…I can’t see where having Marcus Smart on the court at the same time as “THE VANDOLORIAN” would be effective, except at end of game switching offense and defense players during deadfalls, timeouts. It would be great to trade him, but no team out there will take his game or his contract.
Good article, Tom. This is something we’ve been discussing since the acquisition, but we’ll reference your latest article this evening when we discuss it tonight on the LFB.