The Los Angeles Lakers officially ushered in a brand new era after handing Luka Dončić a 3-year, $165 million contract extension on Aug. 2.
To further kick off the Lakers’ exciting adventure, it might be in the franchise’s best interests if their general manager Rob Pelinka can figure out a way to land key contributors through a massive trade involving the 27-year-old Austin Reaves.
Reaves authored a career year for Los Angeles in 2024-25, but his on-ball creation, play-making prowess and lack of defensive intensity could prove to be redundant if he were to share the floor with Dončić for a full season.
As a result, it’s plausible to believe that the Lakers might look to the Sacramento Kings in an effort to negotiate a deal to acquire pieces like potential trade chip Keegan Murray and guard Keon Ellis, two versatile complementary pieces.
“Despite Murray being one of the brightest young players the Kings have, he has emerged as a trade candidate because he is also one of the only remaining trade assets on their roster,” ClutchPoints’ Rishav Bhat wrote Wednesday morning.
“At 24 years old and on a modest $11.1 million salary, Murray offers rare upside, strong defense, secondary scoring, and a team-friendly contract that the Kings can make use of in pursuit of a bigger star.”
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The Lakers already have an abundance of generational passing talent in the form of Dončić and 21-time All-Star LeBron James. Los Angeles could benefit from welcoming a pair of solid shooters and capable defenders aboard in a hypothetical swap for Reaves, making Murray and Ellis potential targets.
If the Kings were to pursue a star point guard replacement in the aftermath of their decision to trade De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs this past season, Reaves might be a perfect candidate to fill that role.
For Los Angeles, the skilled 24-year-old Murray could mesh well within the team’s offensive system. In 76 appearances for the Kings in 2024-25, the former No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft averaged 12.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.9 blocks
As for the 25-year-old Ellis, the undrafted 6-foot-6 shooting guard burst onto the scene with the Kings this past season, contributing 8.3 points and 1.5 steals while knocking down a blistering 43.3% of his attempts from three-point range.
Ellis’ defensive potential knows no bounds, and his impressive 2.0 defensive box plus-minus figure in 2024-25 indicates that his production on that end of the floor won’t be slowing down any time soon. In theory, Ellis could be the perfect future backcourt partner for the defensively-inept Dončić.
It remains highly unlikely that an agreement of this nature would come to fruition, but the Lakers will eventually have to surround their 26-year-old superstar with more well-rounded young talent sooner rather than later.
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