FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

Last month, Reaves declined a four-year contract extension worth $90 million. Since then, there has been no word on Reaves and the Lakers negotiating a new contract.

Reaves’ current contract includes a $14.8 million player option for the 2026-27 season. After averaging career-highs of 20.2 points and 5.8 assists per game, there is an expectation that Reaves will decline the option in search of a more lucrative deal.

Reaves holds most, if not all, of the leverage. It’s not a secret that the Lakers view Reaves as a burgeoning star they would rather keep than lose, but the decision ultimately lies in his hands. If he and the Lakers can’t work out a new deal sometime this year, the Lakers face the risk of losing him in 2026 free agency.

Should the Lakers Explore a Trade?

There is an uncomfortable alternative to letting Reaves walk in free agency. The Lakers could explore trading him at the 2026 trade deadline. A trade would ensure the Lakers receive valuable pieces in exchange for Reaves, as opposed to losing a player of his stature without gaining anything in return other than cap space.

This alternative shrinks the timetable for negotiating a new contract from an entire season to just a few months. If retaining Reaves is truly a goal for the Lakers, agreeing on a new contract should be as urgent as ever.

However, it doesn’t seem to be as much of a priority as it should be.

One reason is that the Lakers’ newest addition makes the on-court fit and rotations a bit more complicated. Marcus Smart is a much-needed perimeter defender, but where would the 6-foot-5 guard fit in the backcourt rotation that already features Reaves and Luka Dončić?

All three guards could start, but this would force Reaves and a 40-year-old LeBron to play bigger. Smart could simply come off the bench, but that would leave the starting lineup lacking perimeter defense and the second unit lacking scoring. The most logical option would be for Reaves to come off the bench and lead the second unit, but is the rising star ready and willing to embrace a Manu Ginobli-esque role in his contract year?

A solution to the newfound rotational problems would be to simply move on from Reaves. The Lakers could choose to fill the roster’s holes instead of trying to make the guard-heavy rotation work. Reaves could be a valuable asset that yields multiple, necessary pieces for a retool via trade.

With so many factors at play, it is unclear how Austin Reaves’ situation will play out, but Lakers fans may need to prepare themselves for his sudden departure.

Another dog days of summer article. They Lakers offered him every penny they could under the CBA. Everyone knew he would decline it, because his value is much higher than that. There is no reason to negotiate a new deal at this time because they can’t offer him one. Sometimes I wonder if these writers have a basic understanding of league rules. They will play out the season and will see what Austins market value is at that time. Austin has given every indication that he wants to stay a Laker. I suspect he will.

Just some more ‘blah blah blah’. He’ betting on himself, good luck to him, hope he slays this season and works his way into a $30+ million deal.

Super teams today are more likely to be created by the players themselves as NBA general managers. KD, Kyrie, LeBron.

What the Mavs trade did is transform Luka from passive to active when it comes to having a say about with whom he plays. Instead of saying that’s Rob’s job, Luka got involved with both De’Andre and Marcus. I have a hunch Luka is already thinking about whom he wants to be LeBron James replacement and I think it’s Jokic.

Luka and Nikola are friends and it’s probably going to Luka wanting the Lakers to go after one of his closest friends who is also an elite NBA player. We may owe more to Nico than we originally thought. LOL. He’s turned Luka into his own GM.

FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

1-Nikola Jokić
2-Victor Wembanyama
3-Ivica Zubac
4-Alperen Sengun
5-Rudy Gobert
6-Domantas Sabonis
7-Deandre Ayton
8-Dere14-Brook Lopez
ck Lively II
9-Isaiah Hartenstein
10-Walker Kessler
11-Naz Reid
12-Donovan Clingan
13-Daniel Gafford
14-Brook Lopez
15-Mark Williams
16-Zach Edey
17-Steven Adams (If not for injury and playing time concerns, I’d have Adams ranked much higher)
18-Clint Capela
19-Jonas Valanciunas
20-Kevon Looney
21-Luke Kornet
22-Robert Williams III
23-Yves Missi
24-Jaylin Williams
25-Kelly Olynyk
26-Quinten Post
27-Nick Richards
28-Jaxson Hayes
29-Trayce Jackson-Davis
30-Oso Ighodaro

DE'ANDRE AYTON, 7TH BEST WEST CENTER?Iztok Franco has the Lakers' De'Andre Ayton ranked as the 7th best center in the Western Conference although clearly in a tier below the top 6 centers. While critics have questioned Ayton's motor, he's been consistent and durable,… https://t.co/lEyhhukQWv pic.twitter.com/55kxW4P7Uq— LakerTom (@LakerTom) July 25, 2025

This list is moronic without Chet Holmgren and Anthony Davis.

This makes sense, wait a season and go from 1 to 3 potential FRP’s to trade. I’m astounded something so logical got posted…

Like Vando, he came into last season out of NBA shape. He looks a lot better…against summer league talent…and here’s hoping he keeps getting better.

He looked solid against Summer League level talent. Same basic package (long, nimble, athletic) but looked more sure of himself, especially on defense. A lot like a younger, lighter Hayes. Nothing to get too pumped about, he’s still a 2 way guy, but a solid 3rd option at center, should it come to it for a stretch.

I don’t know why the Trailblazers do this trade. They have 15 guys under contract and would need to cut two of their young guys they are developing. That would also give them 7 forwards with overlapping skills.

I’m not sure that is the best strategy, having ample cap space can be an asset in and of itself in that you can offer multiple desirable options to modern teams: FRPs, cap relief, and young players via signing and trading. Being able to absorb salary in the summer can be as good, if not better, then having players people want. Taking in money while offering picks and say Reaves or Rui in a S&T might be our best option.

🚨Luka Doncic WILL sign his extension with the Lakers and will to go to LA to do so before joining the Slovenian National Team Slovenia HC Aleksander Sekulić: “I expect him to arrive after August 4th, when he has completed all his obligations in the USA,”Via @Sport_Klub_Slo pic.twitter.com/yyXM967hHL— LakersMuse (@LALMuse) July 24, 2025

Luka Dončić will sign an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers on 2. or 3. August!Coach of Slovenian national team confirmed that Luka will fly to USA to "Complete all obligations" before joining the national team after August 4th.https://t.co/g8pfVluHyc pic.twitter.com/X3m4v6FeTp— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) July 24, 2025

lol, ok. I’ll believe it when he signs and isn’t this tampering lol

No.

We got one in Vando.

Who says it’s LeBron’s last season here? lol…Until he says otherwise the dude is a Laker.

Again, this is as much a byproduct of being the most popular basketball team on Earth in a city everyone wants to live in. Feels like Luka should get as much credit, if not more, than Rob as both Smart and Ayton singled him out as being one of if not the main factor in why they came here. We paid Goodwin to walk, that’s not a genius move…that’s not having confidence you can make a better move before it smacks you in the face.

Luka went to the NBA Finals 2 years ago, he doesn’t need redemption’s…

FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

There’s a 22-minute video on YouTube of Marcus Smart’s greatest plays as a member of the Boston Celtics, 36 different moments of exactly the kinds of plays the Lakers are hoping he can make now that he’s on their team.

The clips show it all — meeting LeBron James at the rim to block a dunk, sticking a paw in between a Shai-Gilgeous Alexander crossover, fighting off Joel Embiid for a putback, splashing jumpers over Kyrie Irving, beating Giannis Antetokounmpo to a loose ball and ripping a steal out of Franz Wagner’s hands. It’s the resume of a big-time player making big-time plays in big-time games.

It’s just that these big-time games … they kinda happened a long time ago.

LeBron and Kyrie are playing for the Cavs in the video. SGA doesn’t have braids or a headband. Embiid was in a protective facemask (and otherwise healthy). Antetokounmpo was in that phase where he was still trying to harness his athleticism, and so on and so forth — one big play pressed against a reminder of a time in the NBA gone by.

Marcus Smart can make winning plays; he’s shown it. It’s just been a minute.

Tuesday afternoon, he arrived at the Lakers’ facility in El Segundo in a black Cadillac Escalade, greeted by an embrace from Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka. Both men are hopeful there are more moments to be delivered, more possessions to be secured with a dive into the crowd or with a sprawl to the court.

“I still have a lot left in the tank,” Smart said.

Injuries have gotten in the way the past two seasons, with Smart playing only 54 out of a possible 164 games since the Celtics traded him in 2023. Ankle and finger injuries have been the main culprits, but the 31-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year has dealt with shoulder and knee issues, too.

But the Lakers are in position to bet precisely on someone like Smart in this moment, signing him for $5.1 million after Smart secured a buyout with the Washington Wizards. If those past injuries aren’t flukes, if they are just the costs of a career where every loose ball was worth risking it all for, then the Lakers aren’t committed beyond a modest player option for next season.

If they are flukes, the Lakers got a player Luka Dončić specifically wanted to play with.

“When you get a guy like Luka calling, referencing, checking on you, trying to see where you at … to see if you want to come and join something special that he’s trying to cook up over here,” Smart said. “And for him to say that he can really use my help, that meant a lot.”

The Lakers definitely need Smart’s help. The roster lacks the kind of player who could credibly try and stop James or Dončić, the kind of player who can free up Austin Reaves from being the primary defender called upon to slow the best backcourt players the Lakers face.

“Just to be me. Come in and do what I do and that’s a tenacious defender, just bringing the intensity that I bring, my leadership, my basketball IQ as well,” Smart said of his role. “But just being the pest that I’ve always been.”

He’s done it. Deandre Ayton has done the things that made him the No. 1 pick and a starting center in the NBA Finals, too. But both players sacrificed portions of their salary to leave their situations, both having their salaries subsidized by competitors as they try to rebuild their careers with the Lakers.

The Lakers and Pelinka’s summer has hinged on these kinds of bets, that the Lakers’ situation, plus some motivation from being discarded, can answer some of the team’s biggest questions.

With Smart, the proof is there that he can earn wins and that he can do it on a massive stage with expectations in the rafters and a rabid fan base in the seats. Feeling that again was part of the reason he came to Los Angeles.

“It’s at the top. I mean, the main goal, the reason you go out and you compete the way you compete is to try to win championships and what better place to be able to do that than here, where the show starts and where the show ends?” Smart said. “So, that was definitely a big part of it, being able to get back on that stage, being able to get to a team that definitely could use me. And I know I can make an impact and I can help as well and that was a perfect fit here.”

Will it be good enough in the West? Smart thinks it might be.

“I think we stack right up there with the best of them,” Smart said. “And I think we can [compete]. Our ceiling is high. I think there’s no ceiling. I think if we all lock in and come and do what we’re supposed to do, we can have a real good shot at it.”

For it to happen, Smart’s got to be on the court and he’s got to be the version of himself that fills that 22-minute highlight reel. He’s got to torture Steph Curry, frustrate Gilgeous-Alexander, fight with Nikola Jokić for rebounds and beat Anthony Edwards to loose balls.

We know Dončić thinks he can do it. And Tuesday, we got confirmation that Smart believes him.

“I’m very motivated,” he said.