Lakers' Austin Reaves Linked in Potential Trade to Eastern Conference

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Evan D. Massey | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 12:57 PM ET

Entering the 2025 NBA offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers will have a lot of decisions to make. With Luka Doncic now the face of the franchise and LeBron James still playing at a high level, Rob Pelinka has his work cut out for him to improve the roster around his two superstars.

It was clear at the end of the 2024-25 season in the playoffs that the Lakers needed more defense. They also clearly needed a legitimate starting center.

Los Angeles doesn't have a lot of financial wiggle room at this point. It will have to get creative to bring in the necessary pieces to compete for a championship.

One potential avenue to freeing up finances or acquiring another big piece to the puzzle could be trading Austin Reaves.

Already, there have been numerous rumors surrounding Reaves. Could he actually be moved during the upcoming offseason?

That is exactly what one new trade idea from ESPN suggests.

ESPN's Zach Kram has suggested a blockbuster four-team trade that would send Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Golden State Warriors. In that deal, Reaves would find himself heading from the Lakers to the Bucks.

Here is how the whole trade would look:

Golden State Warriors Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Draymond Green, Daniel Gafford

Dallas Mavericks Receive: Gabe Vincent, 2031 First-Round Pick (Lakers), 2025 Second-Round Pick (No. 41)

Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Austin Reaves, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga (sign-and-trade), Trayce Jackson-Davis, Maxi Kleber, 2029 First-Round Pick (Warriors), 2031 First-Round Pick (Warriors), 2030 First-Round Swap (Lakers)

It would be a huge trade, but Reaves heading to Milwaukee would be very interesting for the Bucks.

During the 2024-25 NBA season with Los Angeles, Reaves played in 73 games. He averaged 20.2 points per game to go along with 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.1 steals, while shooting 46% from the floor overall and 37.7% from 3-point distance.

At just 27 years old, Reaves could very well become the new face of the Bucks. It would give him a chance to prove that he can be a star himself out from under the shadow of Doncic and James.

While this is just an idea and is unlikely to happen, it's an intriguing trade option to think about.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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