Paul believes that Reaves deserves to get paid in Memphis, with Jackson Jr. serving as LA's defensive stalwart for Doncic in LA.
In the Game Over podcast, Rich Paul proposed an intriguing trade for the Los Angeles Lakers with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Los Angeles Lakers / Schedule
According to the well-known agent of LeBron James, the Lakers must trade Austin Reaves to the Grizzlies for Jaren Jackson Jr.
“If I was the Lakers, I would probably be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson Jr.," he said.
"If you’re building around Luka going forward, you need that anchor, and Jaren doesn’t want to be a part of a rebuild [in Memphis]."
After Morant was made available by Memphis for trade, whispers are now circulating that Jackson Jr. might be the next to follow.
Jackson established his case as one of the league's best defenders, but he took a significant decline statistically this season. He is just averaging 18.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 47.9 percent from the field.
Not to mention, he'll be an expensive one after signing a five-year, $240 million max contract extension last offseason.
The Lakers are set to face an important offseason, as Reaves is likely to decline his $14.9 million player option. Before going down with a calf injury, the undrafted sensation was on a tear with 26.6 points average along with 6.3 assists and 5.2 boards.
In order to potentially acquire Jackson Jr., the Lakers might work out a potential sign-and-trade pact with the Grizzlies for Reaves. And for Paul, Reaves deserves to get paid and earn a major break as the next big star in Memphis.
"This comes with a very unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved," Paul argued. "He’s an underdog. Here’s the thing – there’s a world where you can do what’s best for your team and do what’s best for Austin because Austin deserves to get paid right now. I love him as a Laker.
He added: "Memphis would definitely pay Austin. He would become their leading scorer and point guard.”
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