One NBA reporter feels trading Austin Reaves could be an option for the Lakers by the trade deadline in order to become championship contenders.

While NBA superstar LeBron James picked up his $52.6 million player option with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season, it did not guarantee that he would remain in L.A. How the Lakers would handle player acquisition via the draft and free agency led to speculation over whether James could be traded.

On Aug. 2, Luka Doncic will be eligible to sign a long-term contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers. It may take him some time to actually sign one, as he is spending much of the summer representing his native Slovenia in the upcoming FIBA Eurobasket competition.

An NBA exec believes that Lakers star Luka Doncic could leave for the Nuggets to link up with his good friend Nikola Jokic in 2026.

However, Doncic is only under contract for one more year with a $45.9 million cap hit in 2025 (he also has a $48.9 million player option for 2026-27), and there hasn't been much talk about him signing a long-term contract extension with L.