Jaren Jackson Jr., Austin Reaves, Lakers trade rumors, Rich Paul
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Jaren Jackson Jr. #13 of the Memphis Grizzlies reacts to his offensive foul in front of Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers during a 128-123 Lakers win at Crypto.com Arena on November 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Rich Paul, the agent of Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, sent the internet into a tizzy last week when he floated an Austin Reaves trade involving Memphis Grizzlies All-Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Lakers trade idea caused quite a stir, with Reaves’ agent confronting Paul after a game, and scores of Lakers fans directing their anger towards the Klutch Sports CEO for even suggesting the idea of shipping off their beloved AR-15.
Now, Jackson himself has broken his silence on Paul’s Lakers trade suggestion.
“There’s just a lot of podcasts,” Jackson said, via The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, adding that he “laughed” when he first heard the idea.
“At first, I didn’t think it was real. You have to figure out if it’s real, usually now, and I’m not as versed technology-wise as these people younger than me. I was figuring out if it’s AI, deepfake, all that stuff. That’s all I had, I didn’t really have much of a reaction.”
Lakers Trade Rumors
On The Ringer’s “Game Over” podcast, Paul explained why the Lakers would be wise to contact the Grizzlies and offer Reaves for the former Defensive Player of the Year. With Memphis set to cut ties with Ja Mortant, there’s chatter of Jackson being available.
“If I was the Lakers, I’d probably be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson,” Paul said. “You got to figure out the package. Someway, somehow, I’d be trying to get Jaren Jackson and maybe get back GG Jackson. He’s a young player that you can develop.
“This comes with a very unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved. 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.”
Austin Reaves Trade Possible?
Paul’s proposal definitely makes sense from a basketball perspective, given the Lakers rank 26th in defense and 28th in pick-and-roll opponent FG% (.584). However, Lakers fans have formed a close bond with Reaves since he arrived as an undrafted guard in 2021, with even governor Jeanie Buss growing very fond of the Arkansas native.
“[Jeanie Buss] is the captain of the Austin Reaves Fan Club,” Sam Amick told FanDuel TV’s “Run it Back” earlier this month. “And Rob Pelinka is a huge fan as well… All signs point to them paying Austin Reaves that massive amount coming his way this summer.”
Hypothetically, the Lakers, capped at the first apron, would have to include the expiring deals of Rui Hachimura ($18.2M), Gabe Vincent ($11.5M) and/or Maxi Kleber ($11M), along with Reaves ($13.9M), to make the money work in a Jaren Jackson Jr. trade. Jackson is in the final year of his rookie scale deal and is owed a cap-friendly $35M, before his salary jumps to $49M next year as part of his supermax extension.
As such, if the Lakers were to explore a Jackson Jr. trade, it would have to be before his extension kicks in, following which he’d be harder to acquire under the new CBA.