Reeves refuses to renew his contract!

The NBA playoffs continue this season, but the Lakers season has already ended.

was eliminated by the Timberwolves 1-4, and this ending is obviously not satisfactory. Moreover, the Lakers are also the third-ranked team in the West and have a home advantage in the series.

Entering the playoffs, the Lakers' lineup flaws are constantly exposed, and Doncic's unlimited single-player Gobert is vivid in his mind, but the problem of not having high-quality basket protection centers on the defensive end is also obvious.

In the end, the Lakers were hit by Gobert with a large double-double of 27 points and 24 rebounds in G5, which was really ugly.

Everyone knows that the Lakers need to adjust their lineup, but how should they adjust it?

The initiative may not be in the hands of the Lakers' management, but in the players themselves.

First of all, James' injury situation is heartbreaking. He collided with Divincenzo with 8 minutes and 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the series G5 and injured his left knee.

was substituted and rested for about 1 minute. James returned to the court and played the last seven minutes. However, he underwent a MRI test the next day and was confirmed to have a second-degree sprain in the medial collateral ligament of the left knee.

James is so old that it is not that easy to recover completely.

In addition, the Lakers' third core Reeves, outside Doncic and James, also had the intention to go, at least to see their own value.

According to Sports Illustrated today, Reeves is expected to jump to existing contracts and test the free agent market in the summer of 2026. The Lakers can currently provide Reeves with a four-year, $89.2 million contract extension, but Reeves is expected to refuse.

is the same. Now there are contracts of over 100 million yuan at every turn. The importance of a player of Reeves in the Lakers is definitely not satisfied with a quote of less than $90 million.

In this year's playoffs, Reeves averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, making it the third goal-holding point besides James and Doncic.

If Reeves really wants to leave the Lakers, leave Doncic, and try to be the boss of a new team, then the best way for the Lakers is to trade him quickly to avoid being useless.

But the Lakers like Reeves very much.

According to The Athletic reporter Buha, the Lakers have no idea to trade Reeves.

"There have been rumors of trading Reeves in the past three years, but the Lakers have set a high threshold for such a deal. They attach great importance to Reeves and have a high opinion of Reeves."

Simply put, Reeves is the Lakers' heart and will not easily move.

Then the Lakers have to take some risks to compete with other teams in the free agent market in 2026 to match the quotations of other teams.

At that time, the Lakers will not only strengthen the inside, but also keep Reeves, and the pressure will be really great.