Reportedly, the Los Angeles Lakers looked at a major contingency plan prior to re-signing their star guard, Austin Reaves.
The Lakers bringing back Reaves and holding off reported teams such as the Detroit Pistons for his signature is a big step towards keeping them in the discussion as title contenders, as they wish to build around Luka Dončić. However, they also explored a fallback plan, according to sources.
Lakers Reportedly Held Trade Talks With The Heat Before Reaves Deal
According to NBA insider Michael Scotto of ‘HoopsHype,’ before Wisconsin native Tyler Herro was traded to his hometown Milwaukee Bucks as a major part of the blockbuster Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, the Lakers held discussions with the Miami Heat over the sharpshooter.
“Before Herro joined Milwaukee in the Antetokounmpo trade and the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a four-year, $185 million max deal with Austin Reaves, the Lakers had trade discussions surrounding Herro and Kel’el Ware, which would’ve involved multiple first-round draft picks.”
Herro, a former All-Star, has averaged at least 20 points per game each of his past five seasons and is a career 38.2% perimeter shooter, heading into the final year of his $120 million deal. The Lakers clearly viewed him as a contingency plan in case the Reaves deal didn’t transpire.
This report follows an exclusive article from The Athletic by Dan Woike, amid a strong push by the Pistons, Reaves told Woike, “his conversations with agents Aaron Reilly and Reggie Berry hadn’t made him optimistic for a deal to stay in Los Angeles. There were times when he thought he could be playing elsewhere.”
However, Reaves had his heart set firmly on a return to L.A saying in that interview, “We wanted to be in L.A., my heart was in L.A., and we got it done.” The Lakers eventually increased their offer to four years and $185 million to close the deal.
With the above information in mind, it lends credence to the Lakers’ early concern that they may not be able to bridge the gap in negotiations with Reaves’ camp, leading them to consider other scenarios, such as a Herro-and-Ware trade.
It’s an intriguing ‘what if’ trade scenario. On the face of it, Herro would have made up for the perimeter shooting they’d miss with Reaves departure, and Ware would have been a huge upgrade to their problematic center position.
However, Herro has had a long history of injury concerns of late, whereas Reaves appears significantly more durable over that span and is coming off a career offensive year: 23.3 points per game on 49% shooting.
Plus, they keep the star they developed, an unheralded undrafted prospect, as one of the best swingmen in the NBA. Dončić is a big believer in Reaves, and their elite backcourt partnership shall continue.
As for the Heat, it’s a win for them too, as they were able to pivot and use those two assets to acquire Antetokounmpo from the Bucks in a deal that catapults them into Eastern Conference contention.
