Austin Reaves Accepted Deal To Stay With Lakers Due To…

Austin Reaves, a fantastic swingman, is still with the Los Angeles Lakers. Reaves and the Lakers are allegedly in agreement on a $56 million, four-year contract.

The agreement was finalised on July 6.

The Lakers have continued to add to their roster throughout the summer by bringing back Reaves. In addition to finding a way to recruit Taurean Prince, a big, and Gabe Vincent, a guard for the Miami Heat, they also apparently struck a deal to bring back D’Angelo Russell.

Reaves became the Lakers’ third-leading scorer throughout the playoffs, which helped the club advance to the 2023 Western Conference Finals. During the regular season, he averaged 13 points, three rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in 28.8 minutes per game. However, he improved those numbers to 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 36.2 minutes per game while playing a pivotal role in a first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Reaves turned into more than just another intriguing discovery made by the Lakers scouting staff last season. From an unknown kid from small-town Arkansas who preferred baseball to basketball as a child, he developed into a valuable, versatile member of Los Angeles’ starting lineup.

Reaves claimed to have researched the ways in which Trae Young and James Harden drew fouls and tried to apply such tactics to his own play. Because of his tendency to draw fouls and his aggressive style of defence, Reaves frequently leaves games with minor bruises or bloodstains.

Reaves views it as a means of assisting the Lakers without depending on extraordinary strength or quickness. LeBron James deems him courageous, while Lakers coach Darvin Ham labels him a daredevil from the previous season.

Reaves’ mother was a 6-foot-6 player who scored a lot of points, while his father was a playmaking guard who excelled at Arkansas State. He grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant, his grandmother’s favorite player.

He was modestly recruited out of high school, and he headed to the pros after five years in college at Wichita State and Oklahoma. He started out on a two-way contract with the Lakers last season but played his way into a firm NBA role as a rookie.