Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has been speaking about one his focuses during the negotiations for Luka Doncic.
When Nico Harrison approached counterpart Rob Pelinka over a trade for Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis, the LA Lakers GM was left stunned.
The Lakers continued to negotiate in top secret and were able to pull off the stunning deal for Luka Doncic, who once again showed off his talent by dominating the Oklahoma City Thunder in their most recent match-up.
The partnership of Luka Doncic and LeBron James is a spell-bounding one, but there was another player on Pelinka’s mind through the discussions.
Rob Pelinka has been talking up Lakers star Austin Reaves, who is enjoying a remarkable fifth year with the franchise.
Reaves has taken a step up from promising star to key player, with Derek Fisher recently expressing his admiration for his improving efficiency.
This season Reaves is enjoying a historic shooting stretch and LeBron James has also praised him for ‘unlocking’ a new level.
Speaking to Lakers media, Rob Pelinka praised Reaves: “You bet on the fact that he plays the game the right way, his teammates love to play with him,”
“You bet on the fact that he’s an ultimate competitor. You bet on the fact that he absolutely loves basketball and wants to get better all the time.
He did not like to forecast just how good Reaves can be, adding: “I don’t even like to put a ceiling on a player like that, just let his journey be what his journey is.”
And tellingly, Pelinka said while he was negotiating with the Dallas Mavericks, Pelinka was excited to use Reaves with his new star.
“But even going back to the time of doing the big trade that we made, bringing in Luka [Doncic], I had Austin in my head that whole month I was going through that transaction.
“Because he’s a Swiss Army knife, he can play really in any environment with any player.
“he thinks the game, sees the game at a high level, and it allows him to play so well with Luka and LeBron.”
The big belief around the league is that the Dallas Mavericks did not get enough back for what they gave up for Luka Doncic.
The Lakers traded Anthony Davis and Max Christie, but perhaps the Mavericks should have issued an ultimatum for Austin Reaves to be thrown into the deal too.
Brian Windhorst told The Hoop Collective he considered it ‘malpractice’ from the Mavericks that they did not land Austin Reaves in the trade that sent Luka Doncic away.
Pelinka’s comments suggest he would have found this a painful deal to sanction, and may have made very clear that Austin Reaves was off limits.
Right now, Pelinka is enjoying watching it all play out, with Reaves hitting new levels.
