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When will Austin Reaves return?

Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where we are freezing out butts off on this East Coast trip.

As the team continues to work its way through the Grammy trip, your usual scribe who writes this newsletter, Thuc Nhi Nguyen, is off to Milan to cover the Winter Olympics. That means you are stuck with me, Broderck Turner, for the next month to discuss the Lakers here.

Austin Reaves’ return?

At some point on this eight-game trip, the prevailing thought was that Austin Reaves would return to play after being out with a left calf strain. But we are still waiting for that to happen.

The Lakers’ last game on this trip is Tuesday at Brooklyn, meaning Reaves will have been out a little over 5 ½-weeks since the injury first occurred during the Christmas Day game against the Houston Rockets.

Reaves had been upgraded from out to questionable for the games at Washington on Friday night and the New York Knicks on Sunday, but didn’t play.

And for the Nets game Tuesday, the Lakers have listed Reaves as questionable.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Reaves worked out on Saturday but it was not “like a stay-ready game.”

Before the Lakers played the Knicks, Redick said Reaves would be a game-time decision.

Reaves did not play, missing his 19th straight game.

“Yeah, I just would say he’s day to day, game to game, however you want to phrase it,” Redick said after the Lakers lost to the Knicks. “ We’re hopeful to have him for Tuesday, but he’s gotta feel 100% confident.”

In many ways, Reaves and the Lakers face a conundrum regarding his health.

Reaves always wants to play and the Lakers need him to play, but calf injuries can be tricky and can lead to more serious injuries if they aren’t completely healed.

Reaves had missed three games in December with a mild left calf strain, returned to play against the Suns and then went down one game later against the Rockets on Christmas.

Reaves was then diagnosed with a Grade 2 left gastrocnemius (calf) strain and was given a timeline of four to six weeks before a return to play.

Luka Doncic had been out with a calf strain for more than a month when the Lakers traded for him from the Dallas Mavericks last February.

“It’s definitely hard with a calf. I’ve been through that. It’s not an easy injury,” Doncic said Sunday night. “So, we just want him to be healthy. If he’s not ready to come back, don’t come back. But obviously, we’d love to have him out there. We can’t wait for his return.”

Reaves is averaging career-high in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2) per game. He is shooting 50.7% from the field.

His outstanding play means Reaves is in line for a big payday. The Lakers can pay him a maximum deal of five years worth about $241 million.

So, yes, Reaves is understandably being cautious.

Trade winds

Dalton Knecht is apparently being used as trade bait by the Lakers.

Two of the players people around the NBA said the Lakers had shown some interest in were traded for each other last week, leaving L.A. still searching for the right move to make … or not to make.

Cleveland traded De’Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for Keon Ellis, two wing players that had been attached to the Lakers as possible candidates to be acquired.

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at noon PST.

So, the Lakers still have time to do a deal, but people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter say teams have little interest in guards Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht, the two most prominent players the Lakers seem to be pushing.

The Lakers do have a first-round draft pick they can attach to one of them, but so far appear hesitant to make it part of a deal.

MSG nostalgia

Was this LeBron James' final game in Madison Square Garden?

So, after LeBron James had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Knicks, he was asked if it was weird to think that game the Lakers played the Knicks could be his last time playing in Madison Square Garden.

James, in his 23rd season, has given no indication on when he will retire.

“At the end of the day, everything has to come to an end at some point,” James said. “So, no matter what it is, it’s going to be like, ‘I’ll never play again in Madison Square Garden. I’ll never play again in certain arenas. I’ll never play again, period.’ So, at that point it doesn’t matter. You’re going to always miss it. You’re going to miss the game in general. So this one will always have a special place in the journey because it is Madison Square Garden. But yeah, when that time comes, yeah, for sure.”

On tap

Tuesday at Brooklyn (13-35), 4:30 p.m. PST

The Lakers end their eight-game trip against a Nets team that has the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Nets have lost eight of their last 10 games. Michael Porter Jr. leads the Nets in scoring, averaging 25.6 points per game.

Thursday vs. Philadelphia (27-21), 7 p.m.

Just as the 76ers started to play better and get healthy, Paul George was suspended 25 games without play for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. But the 76ers still have All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, who is averaging 29.2 points per game, and center Joel Embiid.

Saturday vs. Golden State (27-23), 5:30 p.m.

It has become one of the more enjoyable moments to see LeBron James and Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry, two of the NBA’s elder statesmen still flourishing, perform against each other. But Curry is dealing with a right knee injury, leaving his status unclear.

Status report

Bronny James (left lower leg soreness) is questionable and rookie forward Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) is out.

Cold, cold, cold

Man, this trip has been a cold one.

Snow in Washington, D.C.

Snow in New York.

Snow when I was in Dallas, which meant it took 12 hours to get home to L.A. because of flight cancellations and delays.

How about this weather report in New York over the weekend — 20 degrees, but feels like 3. So, hearing from friends back home saying they were on the beach in shorts while I was freezing was just mean.

Survey time

It’s a hot topic in our letters basket….. Do you want LeBron James to return to the Lakers next season?

Click here to vote in our survey.

Favorite thing I ate this week

A maritozzo and a latte from illy in Italy.

Hey, it’s Thuc Nhi here! Ciao from Milan! I made it here after one aborted landing attempt at the Charles de Gaulle airport, which forced me to sprint through the terminal after customs to catch a 70-minute connection that was more like 30 minutes. My bags didn’t catch up, but a maritozzo and a latte from illy made the wait a little sweeter. The Italian cafe chain has a location in the CityLife shopping mall across a park from the Main Press Center and after the traditional first-day Olympic activities of getting my credential validated and getting lost learning the press center layout, I definitely deserved a treat. For more Olympic adventures, you can follow me on Instagram.

In case you missed it

Despite All-Stars’ efforts, Lakers fade vs. Knicks on anniversary of Luka Doncic deal

Lakers star LeBron James named an NBA All-Star for a record 22nd time

‘We want Bronny’: Guard Bronny James shines during Lakers’ ugly loss to Cleveland

Cavaliers court raises safety concerns again as Luka Doncic injures leg

‘Like it was yesterday.’ Lakers lose in emotional return to Cleveland for LeBron James

Caitlin Clark as NBA analyst? Will she talk about praise from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves’ return?

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at broderick.turner@latimes.com, and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

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How the Lakers’ Rui Hachimura is thriving off the bench

Jan 27, 2026 Sports Desk

Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where we are all packing our bags.

The team is in the midst of the eight-game Grammy trip. I am getting ready to jet off to Milan to cover my second Winter Olympics. While we call Brad Turner off the bench to pilot the newsletter for the next month, the Lakers are facing their own lineup decisions:

Bench boost

Rarely would JJ Redick tolerate a player taking a midrange shot out of a particular out-of-bounds play. But when Rui Hachimura is playing this way, the Lakers coach will make an exception.

Hachimura is coming off his two best games since returning from a calf injury that sidelined him for two weeks. Against Dallas, he had a block, a season-high eight rebounds and 17 points while drilling two clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Two days later in Chicago, he was one point shy of his season high with 23 points, hitting nine of 11 shots from the field and four of five from three.

Hachimura is rediscovering his early season form that had Redick comparing parts of the Japanese forward’s game to “prime Michael Jordan.” But Hachimura may not be in line to immediately reprise his starting role.

Despite the end of his minutes restriction, Hachimura has remained on the bench to begin games. With the Lakers winning four of their last five games, Hachimura is learning to thrive in any situation.

“Coming off the bench, the game is already going,” Hachimura said. “… So I kind of know how important [it is] to kind of be extra aggressive [more] than usual.”

Because of injuries to their stars, the Lakers’ first-choice starting lineup of Hachimura, LeBron James, Deandre Ayton, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves has only played 85 minutes together in seven games. It’s minus-29 in that small sample size. The lineup with Reaves sidelined and Hachimura limited — James, Ayton and Doncic with Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia — was, before Monday’s game, already the team’s most-used group with 165 minutes together. It’s minus-1.

The starting group will change again no matter Hachimura’s role as Reaves is inching closer to his return. The team expects him to be back during this trip. It could be as soon as Thursday’s game in Cleveland. Keeping defense-minded players such as Smart and LaRavia with the starters has helped balance the lineups. The Lakers bench was never going to be particularly explosive, giving Hachimura potentially more offensive value with the second group.

Coaches were lauding Hachimura for his ability to stay engaged and hit big shots earlier this season even if he went long stretches without touching the ball. Now Hachimura has had 10 or more shot attempts in five consecutive games for the first time since March 2024. Redick said the team is making sure to get Hachimura involved with specific plays coming out of timeouts. Hachimura said that hasn’t happened for him during his tenure with the Lakers before.

“I think it’s working,” Hachimura said.

Onlookers tend to fixate on starting lineups. Players and coaches like to stress who closes games more. Hachimura is delivering in the clutch moments: He played 42 minutes and six seconds in the fourth quarters against the Nuggets, Clippers, Mavericks and Bulls, the third-most fourth-quarter minutes on the team during that stretch behind Smart (42 minutes, 37 seconds) and James (42 minutes, 15 seconds).

“Nobody’s going to care if you were a starter or came off the bench at the end of the season or at the end of your career,” Redick said. “Just be a good basketball player. He’s a good basketball player.”

Every metric of Hachimura’s production will be scrutinized this offseason as he becomes a free agent. Despite what moving to the bench could mean for Hachimura’s next contract, he doesn’t appear fazed as long as the Lakers can keep counting wins: four in their last five.

“Winning is gonna help,” Hachimura said after the loss to the Clippers. “I think we focus on ourselves sometimes. But I think at the end of the day, it is just winning. That’s gonna help us, everybody. So we gotta focus on that and everything’s gonna come.”

Charged up

Luka Doncic points after taking a charge from Dallas' Cooper Flagg earlier this season.

Luka Doncic’s balletic step-through to beat a double team and layup a soft finger roll was the offensive dagger that slayed his former team. But the NBA’s leading scorer got the biggest reaction from his defense nine seconds later when he stepped in front of Naji Marshall and ended up flat on his back in the key.

“I enjoyed the charge more,” Doncic told reporters in Dallas with a satisfied smirk.

Still laying flat on his back under the basket, Doncic’s eyes widened as he screamed toward the Lakers’ bench. His teammates pumped their fists and signaled for an offensive foul.

Consistently attacked by opponents on defense, Doncic delivered six consecutive stops in the fourth quarter against the Mavericks when he was the primary defender, coach JJ Redick said, including the energy-boosting charge. Doncic’s 10 charges drawn are already the most of his career, eclipsing the eight he recorded during his rookie season with the Mavericks.

Doncic’s selfless defense has helped put the Lakers on top of the league in charges drawn with 41 (0.93 per game). The next closest team, the Golden State Warriors, has 29.

The Lakers were also among the league’s best last year in drawing charges, ranking second with 0.62 charges per game, but the addition of Marcus Smart has brought a significant boost. The former defensive player of the year has an NBA-high 14 charges drawn.

“Anticipation,” Smart said of how he puts himself in position to get the timely calls. “Timing is everything. … And just making sure [you have] the confidence being there. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t. You’d rather be there and get a foul call and not be there and not get anything. It definitely takes some timing, but my teammates do a good job of funneling their guys to the right spot that I’m gonna be in and they know where I’m gonna be. Just make sure I’m in my spot.”

Austin Reaves and Doncic each have 10, tied for the second-most on the Lakers. Even Dalton Knecht stepped in front of Zion Williamson this season to draw the first charge of his career. He followed it with another charge the very next night against San Antonio.

On tap

Wednesday at Cavaliers (28-20), 4 p.m. PST

Cleveland has won five of its last six games after an underwhelming start to the season amid injury concerns for star guard Darius Garland. Garland, averaging 18 points in just 26 game appearances, could miss Wednesday’s game with a right big toe sprain.

Friday at Wizards (10-34), 4 p.m. PST

The Wizards have lost nine in a row. Trae Young (quad) hasn’t played since he was traded to Washington last month. Second-year center Alex Sarr is oen of the bright spots for the team as he leads the league in blocks with 2.1 per game.

Sunday at Knicks (27-18), 4 p.m. PST

The NBA Cup champions were spiraling with nine losses in 11 games between Dec. 31 and Jan. 19, but stabilized themselves with a 54-point win over Brooklyn and a gritty road win against Philadelphia. Jalen Brunson leads with 28 points and 6.1 assists per game while Karl-Anthony Towns leads the league in rebounding with 11.4 per game.

Status report

Austin Reaves: left calf strain

Reaves is progressing back to on-court work now that he’s passed the four-week mark. After beginning with three-on-three games and stay-ready games against coaches and staff members, Reaves is expected to return fully on this trip that ends Feb. 3 in Brooklyn.

Adou Thiero: right knee sprain

The rookie forward is in the final week of his initial four-week timeline since his injury was announced on New Year’s Eve.

Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Olympics

This 5-foot-2 reporter will be sidelined from Lakers coverage for four weeks while on assignment at the Milan Cortina Olympics. My colleague Brad Turner will take over the starting newsletter writer spot.

Favorite thing I ate this week

This meal goes out to Saprarmurat, the Uber driver who picked me up at O’Hare in the midnight hours of Monday morning and the first person I’ve ever met from Kyrgyzstan. The cuisine is a combination of Eastern European and Central Asian and wholly delicious. The first two dishes he suggested were plov and manty, so I followed his lead when I found Euro Asia Restaurant near downtown Chicago. Plov is a seasoned rice dish with lamb and manty are steamed dumplings stuffed with diced lamb and onions. I walked a mile in single-degree weather for this meal and would do it many times over.