Austin Reaves is so important to the Los Angeles Lakers right now that Rob Pelinka highlighted retaining the star guard as one of the three pillars of the 2026 offseason. The other two pillars — nabbing a franchise center and securing a bunch of dribble, pass, shoot players — did not get done without Reaves being consulted on the matter.
That is right, Luka Doncic is not the only star who has gotten to exchange conversations with Pelinka about roster construction. The team president been much more outspoken about 'co-creating' with Doncic at the start-of-season press conference. However, it was at Lakers Media Day that Reaves dropped the gem of mentioning he had a role in the coming together of this new group as well.
"Me and Rob had many a phone call talking about people that I thought could help us be successful."
At this point of his career and rise, Reaves has earned having that type of voice. There has been a lot of talk about Austin and Luka stepping up as leaders for the Lakers after the departure of LeBron James. There will be many ways in which that will show up. This is one of them.
Austin Reaves' status as second in command for the Lakers calls for his voice to be heard
Reaves is the second-best player on the Lakers heading into next season. There is no doubt about that. James leaving has firmly cleared the way for him to be nothing less.
Pelinka may not be openly advertising his conversations with Reaves in the same way he is when it comes to Doncic, but there is a clear mutual respect with the Lakers' secondary star. Why would that not be the case?
Reaves has earned that much throughout his five-year run with the Lakers franchise. Every single season has featured an improved version of the former undrafted guard. If Los Angeles wants that trend to continue, it does not hurt in the slightest to get input on the type of players that Austin envisions success with.
That summer mission has quietly been a success. The new guys who have arrived in Los Angeles are already discussing what they need to do with regard to helping Doncic and Reaves be at their best.
At the end of the day, a general manager needs to make the final call on roster decisions. Pelinka has continued to have the ultimate say on the matter. Welcoming the input of not only Doncic, but Reaves too, will only offer a greater wealth of information to work with.
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