Hawks have asked Lakers about Austin Reaves

The Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks have recently held trade talks, with Atlanta inquiring about guard Austin Reaves, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Los Angeles has been linked to Atlanta guard Dejounte Murray, who’s expected to be moved before the Feb. 8 trade deadline. But the Lakers apparently aren’t looking to trade Reaves to the Hawks or any other team.

If the Lakers are to acquire Murray, it most likely would be a trade involving guard D’Angelo Russell. Per multiple reports, that would be contingent on the Hawks’ ability to flip Russell to another team.

“The Hawks recently inquired about Austin Reaves, team and league sources told ESPN, but L.A. has no desire to move the popular homegrown talent,” McMenamin wrote. “As much as Murray would bring to the table, infusing speed and playmaking to a Lakers team lacking both, would he be enough to part with some combination of Russell, (Rui Hachimura), a future first-round pick, Reaves or other young players?”

While the Lakers are again the center of nearly every trade rumor, league sources told Hoops Wire they could have trouble making a trade for an impactful player.

Reaves is averaging 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists, shooting 49 percent from the field and 35 percent on 3-pointers. He’s making $12 million and was the Lakers’ third-best player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference finals last season.

Reaves, 25, signed a four-year, $53 million contract in restricted free agency last offseason.

After going undrafted in 2021, he is averaging 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 169 career games with the Lakers. 

At any rate, a lot of people throughout the NBA expect the Lakers to soon land Murray, who shares agent Rich Paul with James and Davis. But in the end, they may need to surrender Reaves to make it happen.

New for ESPN: With the NBA trade deadline less than three weeks away, here’s the latest I’ve heard about the three potential approaches the Lakers could take to improve their team https://t.co/jtfw7G8DIX

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 23, 2024