Luka Doncic told the front office of his ‘desire’ to have Austin Reaves as his backcourt partner. Then, the Los Angeles Lakers offered him a four-year, $185 million extension, and now the new era begins. But Zach Lowe pointed out how the partnership could be at risk.

Let’s not forget Luka Doncic also demanded an A-list center, and Rob Pelinka delivered Walker Kessler. But the Lakers had to overpay to get the former Jazz star in a sign-and-trade. Lowe pointed out on his podcast how that could spell trouble for Austin Reaves.

“The Lakers paid $130 million and traded two unprotected first-round picks to get them on their team,” he said on the Zach Lowe Show. “I like Walker Kessler as a player. People can go back and listen to the segment I did about why I think this will actually work decently for the Lakers on both ends of the floor.

“There is no question that they overpaid for him and are now trapped with this team and have to figure out either this is the team or is there a way to pivot by trading Austin Reeves down the line or something like that, because they’re out of tradable assets because of the Walker Kessler deal.”

According to Slovenian basketball reporter Iztok Franko, Luka Doncic “pushed hard” for the Lakers to acquire Walker Kessler this offseason. The 7-foot-2 star is an elite lob target and is one of the NBA’s better rim protectors.

Now, the Kessler addition gives the team an opportunity to see whether improved rim protection can cover some of its perimeter shortcomings.

Doncic’s minutes are spent scoring, creating, and carrying the offense, not chasing point guards through screens. That reality doesn’t change just because Kessler is now patrolling the paint. Adding an elite rim protector solves one problem, but it doesn’t turn the Lakers into a lockdown defense on its own. The perimeter issues are still there.

Which is why Reaves’ name keeps coming up when people speculate about what happens next. If the defense still isn’t good enough once the season plays out, the front office may look for another way to fix it, and Reaves checks the boxes that make a player valuable in a trade: he’s young, he’s productive, and his contract is team-friendly. None of that means a deal is coming. It just means his profile fits the kind of move a team makes when it’s out of easier options.

And that’s what makes it worth watching. Reaves hasn’t had a season where he didn’t improve. He came into the league undrafted, put up modest rookie numbers: 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and has climbed every year since, capping it off last season with a career-best 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists a night.

In fact, AR even previously called Luka Doncic one of his best friends and stated how their conversation extended beyond basketball.

“He’s one of my best friends on this planet,” Reaves said. “I talk to him almost every single day. “I talk to him almost every single day. He sends me videos of his golf swing & asks what he can do to get better, and I tell him I’m not a coach.”

For now, Reaves remains an important piece of the puzzle. But if the Lakers discover that their new-look roster still needs another major adjustment, his name could eventually enter trade discussions.