Two recent wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks haven’t stopped the trade rumor mill from swirling around Austin Reaves and the Los Angeles Lakers. While Reaves has continued to put up solid stats to compliment LeBron James and Anthony Davis offensively, the talented guard’s defensive regression has led some to speculate on whether the Lakers might opt to trade him as the deadline approaches next month.
One name who has been frequently tied to the Lakers in trade rumors is that of Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray; however, a recent report from Michael Scotto of Hoopshype stated that Los Angeles was unwilling to part ways with Reaves, even in a trade for Murray (via Lakers All Day Everyday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter).
One person who isn’t thrilled about that is none other than former Lakers champion Lamar Odom, who quote-tweeted the report in frustration, simply writing, “SMH.”
Lamar Odom, who helped lead the Lakers to rings in 2009 and 2010, would seem to be in the camp that Dejounte Murray would help the Lakers more than what Reaves is currently giving them. Of course, Austin Reaves was arguably the third-most impactful player on the Lakers last year, a season that ended with Los Angeles making an improbable push all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
If this latest report is any indication, it seems that Los Angeles is banking on Reaves being able to replicate that production once again this spring, even at the expense of bringing in a former All-Star in Murray.
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