Austin Reaves shuts down trade buzz with bold take on Lakers loyalty: “I don’t pay attention to it”

This past season, Austin Reaves staked his claim as one of the most formidable scoring options for the LA Lakers. Despite his stellar play alongside LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Reaves has often figured in trade speculations — but apparently, the four-year pro has already learned how to cope with these.

In a viral clip posted over the weekend, Reaves — who was in attendance at the Reaves Brothers Basketball Camp — told a local Arkansas reporter about his response to trade buzz.

“I don’t pay attention to it,” Reaves said. “I keep my head down and work. I feel like that’s one of the reasons where I’m at.”

Though Reaves acknowledged that some things are out of his hands, he maintained that his loyalty remains firmly with the City of Angels.

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"At this point, it's not in my control," Reaves admitted. "If they want to trade me, we'll start something new somewhere else. But, like I said, I wanna be in LA. I wanna play my whole career in LA...I love the fans, I love the weather, I love the golf."

Reaves, who called the Lakers "the best organization in the world" in this interview, averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 2024-25. All these averages are career highs for the former Oklahoma Sooner, who was openly endorsed by James as a Most Improved Player candidate back in April.

It remains to be seen, however, whether James' adulation or even Reaves' own production will be enough to keep him in the Lakers roster over the offseason.

"Next year is going to be a show": Austin Reaves' agent addresses trade rumors involving Lakers guard

While Reaves was rather gracious in his response, his agent took a more defiant tone in addressing the trade speculations.

Back on May 24, Reaves' agent Aaron Reilly retweeted a clip of the Lakers guard's highlights against the Indiana Pacers. Reilly's caption was a strong response to the trade buzz surrounding his client.

"Next year is going to be a show," Reilly tweeted. "People really have no idea what’s to come. Keep putting him in trade rumors for second string centers."

Just days after this Tweet was posted, the Pacers went on to book a trip to the NBA Finals. Clearly, Reilly has high hopes that Reaves and the rest of the Lakers will also embark on a deep playoff run next season.

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About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

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