Not every big-name star has played up to par in the NBA Playoffs. In fact, there are eight who may have underwhelmed their way onto the offseason trade block.
With the first round of the NBA Playoffs nearly in the books, there are plenty of talking points that can be taken. A few teams completely laid an egg in their first-round showing, while other dominant performances certainly spoke volumes. Individually, there were at least a handful of "star" players who left much to be desired for their respective teams through the first round.
In this article, we'll explore eight big names, or star players, who played so underwhelmingly poor for their respective teams through the first round of the NBA Playoffs that they may find themselves on the trade block this summer.
Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers endured one of the most disappointing first-round NBA Playoff losses in the league this season, and while all the blame shouldn't be placed on Austin Reaves, he can't escape the criticism that is likely coming his way heading into the offseason. If the Lakers were going to make a deep playoff run, they needed Reaves to play like a high-level third option next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Simply put, he - and the rest of the supporting cast - wasn't good enough.
The Reaves from the last three months of the season and the one that the Lakers had in the NBA Playoffs were two very different players. Again, Reaves is not the primary reason why the Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he certainly didn't help matters much. With a need to improve the roster heading into the offseason, trading Reaves is going to be one of the easiest ways for the Lakers to accomplish that. With how much of a letdown Reaves was for the Lakers in the postseason, a potential trade looms like a very realistic possibility this offseason.