3 Key Reasons the Lakers Should Steer Clear of an Austin Reaves-Michael Porter Jr. Trade with the Nuggets

When you’re a franchise with as much historical success as the Los Angeles Lakers, it’s championship or bust every year. This is the franchise of West and Baylor, Kareem and Magic, Shaq and Kobe. Being merely good is never good enough.

That’s why the Lakers find themselves in a bit of a pickle. They’ve started the season well, going 6-4 while navigating the sixth most difficult schedule in the league. Anthony Davis is playing like an MVP, JJ Redick is making his mark in his first season as head coach, and LeBron is still LeBron.

Lakers fans have to be pleased with the first 10 games, but nobody that’s wearing their purple and gold Starter jacket out on the town has any delusions that this is a championship team right now. Davis and LeBron are a phenomenal foundation even in their advancing age, but the rest of the roster feels uninspired and lacking when compared to some of the deeper teams in the league.

Perhaps it’s because the Lakers chose to sit out the offseason, at least outside of the draft, where they selected Dalton Knecht and Bronny James. The roster is more or less the same as it was a year ago, and even with a fresh coat of Redick-colored paint, there’s no real material difference between what we’ve watched the first couple of weeks and the team that won 47 games and got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs last year.

The Lakers needs a shake-up, but is there a move out there that could vault them to within striking distance of the Celtics, Thunder, Cavs and Warriors? When you have LeBron and AD, anything is possible, but the Lakers don’t just need to make a move, they need to make the right move.

Ever since D’Angelo Russell opted in to the final year of his contract this summer, he’s been the most obvious name bandied about as a possible trade chip, and thanks to his recent benching, the trade rumors will only get louder. We’ll explore some possible Russell trades later in the week, but for now let’s focus on one potential trade that could shake up the Western Conference, and figure out whether it’s a good idea for L.A.

Should the Lakers construct a deal with the Nuggets centered around Austin Reaves and Michael Porter Jr.?

It’s not often that two teams that have met in the past two postseasons would entertain the idea of a trade, but on the surface, there’s reason to believe that an Austin Reaves-Michael Porter Jr. swap could have some merit for both teams.

The Lakers are in need of outside shooting to keep up with the 3-point revolution that has completely overtaken the league. Porter, a career 41 percent shooter from outside, would really fit the bill, and he’s already shown that he can thrive in a “third banana” role behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Thanks in large part to Jokic’s transcendent passing and court vision, the Nuggets lead the league in assist rate. Acquiring Reaves, who’s dished out 5.2 assists per game this year compared to MPJ’s 2.9, would turn Denver’s strength into a mega strength, evolving the Nuggets into the modern NBA equivalent of the Spurs team that achieved basketball nirvana by annihilating the Miami Heat in their NBA Finals rematch in 2014.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka would have to give serious consideration to a trade involving these two players, but here’s why he should ultimately hang up the phone.

Reaves for MPJ doesn’t work because of their vastly different salaries

Both Reaves and Porter have three years remaining on their current contracts, but Porter is making almost triple what Reaves does. In the NBA, that matters, and Pelinka would have to perform some serious financial gymnastics to make it all work.

Reaves is currently making just under $13 million a year, while Porter blows that out of the water with almost $36 million per year. That’s an enormous difference, and to get a deal to the finish line, the Lakers would have to send over another player(s) whose salary was over $20 million per, or get a third team involved to help facilitate things.

Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell each make between $17 and $19 million per year, and one would definitely have to be included to make this a reality. That’s a lot to give up though, especially when Reaves and Porter are honestly not that far from each other in terms of value. One could argue that Reaves is actually more valuable because he provides similar production at a fraction of the price.

Hachimura has been solid, and as the team’s third-leading rebounder behind Davis and LeBron, the Lakers can ill afford to lose his presence down low. Russell is a more likely candidate, but he’s a guy that Pelinka should be able to get something in return for in his own deal. Making him a throw-in on a Reaves-Porter trade kills L.A.’s ability to make another move.

Reaves for MPJ doesn’t work because the Lakers need Reaves’ playmaking ability

It’s obvious why the Lakers would be interested in Porter. He’s an outstanding shooter, and if there’s one lesson we’ve learned over the past 22 years of NBA basketball, it’s that surrounding LeBron with great shooters is a championship formula.

There’s no disputing Porter’s bona fides from beyond the arc. He has one of the sweetest strokes in the game, and at 6-foot-10, he has the size to get his shot off in nearly any matchup.

Reaves is no slouch as a shooter, though. His career 36.5 percentage from behind the line doesn’t quite measure up to Porter’s 41.0, but is it far enough away to justify losing the playmaking that would follow him out the door? I’d say no, especially since it seems a fait accompli that Russell will be dealt before the deadline.

Russell has clearly fallen out of favor with Redick, but his five assists per game prove that he’s still a guy that can get open looks for his teammates. Unless he gets dealt for another point guard (in which case, what’s the point?), his eventual trade will leave Reaves as the only player not named LeBron with over 2.8 assists per game. Trading Reaves for Porter would be an upgrade in the shooting department, but MPJ has never met a shot he didn’t like, and even though he’s averaging a career-high 2.9 assists per game this year, he wouldn’t make the rest of the Lakers better the way Reaves does.

That would drop the entire playmaking burden onto LeBron’s shoulders, and though he’s putting up a hell of a fight against Father Time, asking a 39-year-old to be the sole creator on a team with playoff aspirations is not a smart idea.

Reaves for MPJ doesn’t work because the Lakers have no assurances that Porter will be able to stay healthy

Michael Porter Jr. is a winning basketball player. He already has a title on his resume. Throughout his career, though, health concerns have followed him.

Porter was a top-two recruit coming out of high school, but he played only five games for the Missouri Tigers due to multiple back injuries. This is his sixth year in the NBA, and he missed all but nine games of the 2021-22 season due to another back surgery. He has enjoyed the best health of his career since then, playing 62 games two seasons ago and 81 games last year, but should the Lakers be willing to take a chance that he’ll be able to stay in one piece for the length of his three-year contract?

Back issues are notorious for lingering throughout a person’s life. It’s not the kind of injury that tends to just go away, even if Porter did claim earlier this year that he had been healed of his chronic back pain.

The odds of three high-risk players staying healthy is extremely slim. Every Lakers fan already catches their breath every time AD hits the deck or LeBron crashes into someone. Worrying that MPJ’s back could flare up again is not a problem they need in their lives.

The Lakers don’t have many bites of the apple left in the LeBron era. It would be a shame to waste what’s left of it if they traded Reaves, who has avoided major injury in his career, for Porter, who has not. They’re called red flags for a reason.