With a maximum of 240 million in five years, should the Lakers take advantage of Reeves? US media revealed that the Rockets were selected as the top 3 next teams.

With a maximum salary of US$240 million for five years, should the Lakers take advantage of Rivers? The US media revealed three potential trade targets, among which the Rockets, who are seriously lacking in backcourt ball carriers, were selected.

Reeves exploded

Since the beginning of the season, in the absence of the two core players James and Doncic, the undrafted Reeves has performed amazingly.

Not only did he score a career-high 51 points in the game against the Kings and lead the team to victory, he also scored another 41 points in the second game of back-to-back games. He also sent out a career-high 16 assists in the third game and hit a buzzer-beater.

Scored 120 points in three games. In the absence of James and Doncic, he averaged 40.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 10 assists and 2.8 steals per game with "180 Club" efficiency.

Contract renewal is a problem

Reeves' performance makes the Lakers happy, but also makes the Purple and Gold Army have to face the thorny contract renewal issue. After rejecting a four-year, $89.2 million early contract extension this summer, Reeves will be eligible to return to free agency next summer.

Ideally, Reeves would naturally execute the player option worth $14.9 million for the 26-27 season, and then sign a four-year contract extension worth $93.4 million with the Lakers.

But considering Reeves' performance and the fact that 9 teams can offer maximum salary contracts next summer, Reeves' contract renewal situation has become difficult. If the Lakers keep him, they will definitely spend a lot of money.

Several potential contract renewal situations are as follows:

3-year contract: 3 years and 134.5 million U.S. dollars (other teams are 130.7 million U.S. dollars in 3 years);

4-year contract: 4 years and 185.9 million U.S. dollars (other teams are 4 years and 178.5 million U.S. dollars);

5-year contract: 5 years and 240.7 million U.S. dollars.

No matter which contract is renewed, Reeves' annual salary will exceed US$40 million, and the average salary of the five-year contract is close to US$50 million. For the Lakers, who already have Doncic and are trying to introduce another top helper in 2027, renewing Reeves will lock up the team's salary space.

Therefore, for the Lakers, after Reeves's consecutive impressive performances, the mid-season trade deadline for Reeves will become a reasonable choice for the Lakers.

The Lakers can decide based on subsequent results, whether to package Reeves and directly introduce a higher-level star to partner Doncic for a long time, or exchange it for a first-round pick + multiple immediate role players to gain control of the present and the future, or directly exchange them all for draft rights and first-round picks to create another amazing deal in the future.

For this reason, the US media "BleacherReport" also revealed three potential trade destinations for Reeves, including the Rockets.

Choice 1: Mavericks

The two teams once created an amazing trade plan around Doncic, and then the Mavericks got the No. 1 pick Flagg, which allowed both parties to get what they needed to achieve a win-win situation, so it is expected to complete another transaction.

Especially considering the Lone Ranger's unbalanced lineup configuration, in the absence of Irving, the Lone Ranger needs Reeves to play the role of backcourt engine.

The Mavericks' Gafford, Lively and Big Eyebrows are perfect reinforcement targets for the Lakers.

Option 2: Pistons

The young Pistons became a dark horse last season. The core configuration of Cunningham + Jaylen Duren + Osar Thompson gives this young team a bright future and unlimited room for imagination.

But after Schroeder left, Cunningham lacked a solid backcourt partner, especially when Ivey suffered a knee injury and LeVert performed poorly at the start.

Choice 3: Rockets

There is no doubt that the Rockets also appear on the list, and are the team that most urgently needs to improve their backcourt firepower among the three teams.

Of course, according to the style of Udoka of the Rockets and the potential trade value of Reeves, Jrue Holiday of the Trail Blazers is obviously a better reinforcement choice.