"Those three guys are not gonna win anything" - Shannon Sharpe urges the Lakers to trade Austin Reaves and improve their team
"Those three guys are not gonna win anything" - Shannon Sharpe urges the Lakers to trade Austin Reaves and improve their team originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Time is ticking for the Los Angeles Lakers if they want to maximize their championship prowess with the tandem of Luka Doncic and LeBron James. With "The King" turning 41 next season, the window to chase a championship with him is narrow at best.
Advertisement
That is why Shannon Sharpe feels the Purple and Gold need to act strategically, and that includes considering a tough decision — trading their most valuable trade chip, Austin Reaves, to pursue a traditional center that can help elevate the game of both James and Doncic.
Reaves is the only asset that the Lakers have
After averaging 15.9 points and 5.5 assists during the 2023-24 campaign, AR proved himself to be one of the most reliable no. 3 options in the league. As a result, the franchise rewarded him with a four-year, $53 million contract before the start of this season. And "Hillbilly Kobe" didn't disappoint, averaging 20.2 points in the 2024-25 season, asserting himself as one of the most valuable pieces in their core.
During the 2025 trade deadline, the Lakers seemed determined not to entertain any trade offers for Reaves. However, as the legendary NFL tight end said, now is the time to consider. With the 6'5" shooting guard now reaching his borderline All-Star level, more and more teams will be interested in offering him a lucrative contract worthy of his growth and talent.
Advertisement
On his podcast, Sharpe argued that from a team perspective, the Lakers need to offer their most valuable piece to acquire a battle-tested rim protector and pick-and-lob threat who can dominate the paint alongside the marquee duo.
"The Lakers can only pay him so much. You're gonna go somewhere and get a big payday anyway. You ain't trying to stay with the Lakers when you get $200 million, and they can't give you that," Sharpe said. "Yeah, he has improved every single year; he's a hell of a player."
"But those three guys are not gonna win anything. Now, I'm not saying you gotta package him, but they need a (traditional) big. He's the only valuable piece that they have," he added.
Related: "He's Mr. Discipline, Mr. Straight, Mr. Conservative" - Dennis Rodman admits Gregg Popovich was "the big problem" in San Antonio
The Lakers should never trade AR
As tempting as it is to see Reaves' name used as trade bait, the truth is that the Lakers should not let go of him so easily. The 26-year-old is not an ordinary rising star but a homegrown fan favorite. Suppose the organization has put its faith in him. In that case, he has rewarded that trust by improving each season, regardless of the coaching changes or shifting roles.
Advertisement
Whether Bron or Luka was out of the lineup, AR stepped up and delivered, proving that he's more than capable of handling pressure on the big stage. And that is exactly the type of selfless, gritty player who can help build long-term success.
He might not have individual accolades to his name. Still, with how Reaves has performed in the 2024-25 season, he was better as a third option than the second option of some teams and, in a handful of cases, more impactful than the production of the team's best player.
Thus, the Lakers should definitely have plans for the future now that the Doncic era has begun. Still, trading proven youngsters like Reaves would only be a lose-lose move, as they would be giving up on a selfless, team-oriented player only to add another experiment to their roster.
Related: "With Jordan, they don't talk about the negativities...about the playoff losses" - Michael Beasley says LeBron is '100%' the GOAT over MJ
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on May 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Aaron Nesmith puts Chet Holmgren on poster with insane putback
The post Aaron Nesmith puts Chet Holmgren on poster with insane putback appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Indiana Pacers will be facing elimination following their 120-109 Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. One thing the Pacers have going for them is Game 6 will be on their home court. And in the midst of the Pacers trying to spark a late rally in Game 5, Aaron Nesmith had one of the highlights of the night with an insane poster dunk on Thunder big man Chet Holmgren. Advertisement Aaron Nesmith's poster dunk on Chet Holmgren came late in the fourth quarter as the Pacers trailed the Thunder by double digits. The dunk cut the Thunder lead to 120-105 with about two and a half minutes remaining. But the Pacers would only score two more points the rest of the way and would fall despite the Thunder not scoring any points from that point on. If the Pacers want to keep their season alive and extend the NBA Finals to deciding Game 7, they'll need strong production from players like Nesmith. He gave the Pacers a solid performance in Game 5 finishing with 14 points, six rebounds and one steal while shooting 5-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from the three-point line in a little over 24 minutes. His poster dunk on Holmgren was the only non three-point shot he hit. During the Pacers playoff run so far, Nesmith had been averaging a playoff career-high 13.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists with splits of 47.9 percent shooting from the field, 49.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 87.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Now in his third season with the Pacers, Nesmith has developed into one of the Pacers' most dependable role players on both ends of the court. This season, he shot a career-high 43.1 percent from the three-point line. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Nesmith was acquired by the Pacers in a trade with the Boston Celtics ahead of the 2022-23 season. Related: Pacers' Pascal Siakam gives Tyrese Haliburton '100%' support after woeful Game 5 Related: Pacers' Myles Turner drops unfazed 'best time of year' take despite rough Game 5 loss
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rafael Devers goes 0-for-5 in first game vs. Red Sox since blockbuster trade
When the Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, they did it knowing they would be facing their disgruntled former player in just five days. That game arrived on Friday. Taking the field only as a designated hitter, but with first base in his future, Devers failed to make his old team pay, going 0-for-5 at the plate in a 7-5 loss. He did receive a nice ovation before his first at-bat, though. Devers' hitless night wasn't for lack of balls in play. He managed to lift a ball to the left-field wall in the third inning, but was robbed of an extra-base hit by former teammate Ceddane Rafaela. Devers finished his night with his lone strikeout, swinging and missing at a 102-mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman. He is now 3-for-16 with one double four games into his Giants career. Devers met with reporters before the game to discuss the reunion, though he mostly indicated a desire to move on after a very public falling out with the Red Sox front office. Advertisement Devers was the longest-tenured player on the team and in the early years of a team-record 10-year, $313.5 million contract, but made his displeasure public in spring training when it became clear the Red Sox wanted to move him off third base in favor of new arrival Alex Bregman, a Gold Glover at the position. The matter appeared to settle when Devers agreed to transition to designated hitter — a potentially temporary move given that Bregman can opt out of his deal this winter — but the hurt feelings came back when the Red Sox asked if he could cover first base after a season-ending injury to Triston Casas. Devers declined, then said a lot of things to reporters you can't take back. Boston traded him a month later. Rafael Devers didn't want to play first base for the Red Sox. Or he didn't want to say "yes" after how they asked him. (Photo by Darren Yamashita/MLB Photos via Getty Images) (Darren Yamashita via Getty Images) Speaking on Friday, Devers didn't say much he hadn't already said during his introduction with the Giants, but he did make one notable claim, via NBC Sports Boston: 'I would say that I put some good numbers up in Boston, and I think that I do feel that I have earned some respect,' Devers told reporters through an interpreter at Oracle Park. 'If they would have asked me at the beginning of spring training, yes, I would have played.' Advertisement Obviously, the Red Sox weren't going to ask Devers to play first base while Casas was still healthy. However, those comments show how much further this dispute went beyond a simple position change. As the Red Sox brass indicated the day after the trade, the conflict ultimately came down to communication and personality. In the meantime, Devers has been taking grounders at first base since he arrived in San Francisco, but won't make his debut at the position this weekend.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How many of last season's sacks were on Commanders' Jayden Daniels?
One of the biggest metrics we use to analyze defenses, offensive lines, and quarterbacks is sacks. How many sacks did a defense (or player) record? How many sacks did an offensive line allow? How many sacks did a quarterback take? We use this because sacks have such a profound impact on the game. Sacks impact more than field position; sacks affect every player's ability to focus on the game rather than the potential mistake they made. However, determining who is at fault for sacks taken by the quarterback is difficult. Often it's the result of a defender bursting through the line too fast, but there are times when the quarterback holds the ball too long, or he tries to scramble and fails, or any other number of things. Credit is always given to the opposing defender, but who takes the blame? A new graphic released today shows how each quarterback fared in 2024. Forget how many sacks each quarterback took and take a closer look at which ones were deemed the fault of the quarterback versus the ones that are not their fault. Caleb Williams took the most sacks in 2024, but less than 45% of them were his fault. By contrast, Matt Stafford took among the fewest sacks in 2024, yet almost 72% of them were his fault. Advertisement Now, let's look at Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels took the sixth-most sacks in the NFL in 2024, but only 40.4% of those sacks were his fault. That number is consistent with the likes of Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, and Jared Goff. Adam Peters made some additions and adjustments to the offensive line and the offense through free agency and the draft. With Daniels entering his second season and having a better idea and understanding of how the game works and what to expect, plus the changes made by Peters, Daniels should suffer fewer sacks in 2025, which will help the offense keep the ball on the field and open more opportunities to score points. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders' Jayden Daniels is elite in yet another categotry
