Lakers predicted to cut ties with Austin Reaves, acquire $150 million Cavaliers seven-time All-Star

“I think it would be a big mistake to just move on from Austin and not replace the ball-handling void with a real, high-level handler,” Buha stated Sunday.

“If you do replace him, you need to be finding another high-level ball handler and playmaker because it cannot just be and a bunch of role players. I don’t think that is at a high enough level (for the Lakers to win).”

“I will say, with Donovan (Mitchell), I think you are going to get a certain level of — there’s gonna be some defensive concerns with that. … He’s at a much higher level offensively (than Reaves). He’s a better player; it offsets some of the defensive concerns as well.”

Mitchell has been electric for the Cavaliers in their second-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, consistently applying pressure on the Pistons’ second level of defense, using his patented in-between game to keep Detroit on its toes, and rebounding at a high level for a 6-foot-2 combo guard (6.7).

Granted, the Louisville product isn’t shooting the ball well from three (29.6%), but there’s no question that he’s among the primary reasons the Cavaliers are no longer in jeopardy of getting swept.

As Buha noted, Mitchell is a much cleaner ball-handler and more decisive decision maker than Reaves at this stage of his career, making him a clear upgrade over the 23.3 points per game star.

Additionally, while far from elite, Mitchell isn’t the cone Reaves is defensively, giving the Lakers a slightly higher ceiling on that end of the floor. Simply put, if a Mitchell-Reaves swap makes sense from a financial and on-court fit standpoint, the Lakers should be all over it this summer.

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