Austin Reaves has all the makings to be the Los Angeles Lakers’ next gem
By Jason Reed
If the Los Angeles Lakers take a chance on a late draft pick or an undrafted prospect then chances are that prospect has something special about them. The team is taking a chance on Austin Reaves, which bodes well for his NBA future.
Shams Charania reported on Sunday that the Lakers were converting Reaves’ contract to a standard NBA contract, giving him the 14th roster spot on the team.
This is huge news for Reaves. While he likely won’t play much this upcoming season, the fact that the team was willing to use a roster spot on him and allow him to be around the team and learn from all of the veterans in the locker room is massive.
The Lakers quite literally gave away Marc Gasol in order to open up the money and roster spot. While youth is a positive with the team’s age, it was expected that the team would use the 14th roster spot for someone who is more likely to contribute this season. Someone like James Ennis.
The team can still sign another player with the 15th roster spot, even if it seems more likely that they will save that spot for an in-season move. Regardless, the Lakers obviously have faith in Reaves, and we as fans should have faith too.
Austin Reaves has all the makings of being the Los Angeles Lakers’ next hidden gem.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ recent success with finding hidden gems is quite impressive. Players such as Jordan Clarkson, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Moritz Wagner, Thomas Bryant, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Talen Horton-Tucker were all taken late in the NBA Draft.
Then you have Alex Caruso, who is perhaps the biggest success story of them all. Caruso went from undrafted free agent, to Summer League standout, to G League standout, to the most meme-able player in the league, to a legitimate contributor on a title contender, to someone who signed a deal worth nearly $40 million.
Caruso is legitimately one of the best defensive guards in the entire NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers saw that.
MUST-READ: Greatest players with 2 stints on the Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers’ track record for talent is not the only reason to be excited about Reaves. The player himself is also an exciting prospect that has a really interesting ceiling as an eventual rotation player.
Reaves is a much better ball-handler than Caruso was and still is and was elite in college at generating his own shot off the dribble. The ability to create your own shot in the NBA is such a massive thing and Reaves has the seeds planted to be someone who can do that.
His long-range shooting was not great in college and was not great in the Summer League as well. However, that is something that absolutely can be improved on. Look at Caruso’s career arc with shooting. All it takes is the right shooting coach and someone like Reaves, who is so good at creating his own shot in the mid-range, should be just fine.
Reaves’ defensive fundamentals need work but like Caruso, he is a gritty player. He is someone who attacks the glass relentlessly and flies around the court. He is a disruptor, and while he needs to hone his defensive skills, that trait will still allow him to have a baseline of defensive success in the league.
Next. 50 greatest Lakers of all-time. dark
He is not going to be a star and he won’t be as good as Caruso is defensively. However, he absolutely can be a rotation player within the next few seasons, showing his versatility as a combo guard on both the offensive and defensive side of the basketball.