LeBron James’s longtime agent Rich Paul offered a hypothetical that immediately grabbed attention: if he were running the Lakers, he would explore trading Reaves for Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr.
With the Los Angeles Lakers sitting at 23 wins and 14 losses after a Monday night defeat to Sacramento, pressure is building around how the roster fits together, and whether changes are coming before the NBA trade deadline.
The Lakers’ offensive ceiling is obvious. A trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves can score with anyone.
The problem has been everything else. Defensive lapses, limited perimeter shooting, and a thin supporting cast have kept Los Angeles from being viewed as a true title contender, despite operating firmly in win-now mode.
“If I was the Lakers I would be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson,” Paul said on a recent episode of the Game Over podcast. “If you’re building around Luka you need that anchor. Jaren doesn’t want to be apart of a rebuild… if you’re able to trade out expirings and trade the last 1st you got or you can withhold and give up less but this comes with a more unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved. There’s a world you can do what’s best for your team, and what’s best for Austin. Austin deserves to get paid… Memphis would definitely pay Austin. He would become their leading scorer and PG.”
Rich Paul says if he ran the Lakers, he would call Memphis Grizzlies to trade for Jaren Jackson Jr for a package with Austin Reaves 😳
“If I was the Lakers I would be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson… If you’re building around Luka you need… pic.twitter.com/vEj647cWfT
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) January 12, 2026
The logic, at least on paper, is clear. Jackson Jr. is a Defensive Player of the Year who could immediately address the Lakers’ most glaring weakness while pairing cleanly with Doncic long term.
Reaves, while highly effective, overlaps offensively with Luka and is approaching a financial crossroads that could limit roster flexibility.
Still, the optics are jarring. It is rare, perhaps unprecedented, for the agent of a franchise cornerstone to publicly float a trade involving one of his client’s teammates. Even framed as a thought exercise, it lands awkwardly, especially given Paul’s influence across the league.
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