Whenever the Los Angeles Lakers have an early exit from the postseason, there is a lot of noise surrounding who should be moved to improve the roster. A player that has experienced a fair amount of change and rumors through his first three seasons with the team is Austin Reaves.
However, after establishing a solid core during the back half of last season, general manager Rob Pelinka opted to keep the Lakers’ core together. But by losing in five games to the Denver Nuggets in the first round, that may not be the case this time around as the LeBron James and Anthony Davis era is running out of time.
With that being the case, making win-now moves is vital this summer. When asked if the Lakers have talked about staying together for next season, Reaves spoke highly of teammates and expressed a desire to keep this group of guys heading into next year.
“For me, I just really enjoy being around these guys,” Reaves said. “You can go down the list, and everybody on our team is a joy to be around. I’ve spoke about it a billion times about my relationship with DLo off the court, golfing a lot together, and then obviously Bron and AD as well. I consider them my friends, so as long as I can play alongside one of them if there’s anything I can do to help that be possible, that’s what I’ll do because I believe in what we have and I believe with another summer of getting better and then preseason we could make some noise.”
It is early in the offseason, but rumors are bound to swirl before free agency kicks off on June 30. Continuity and chemistry are two key factors in being successful, but some changes are needed once again to enhance the roster.
Despite finishing his third season, Reaves has already captured the support of James and Davis, in addition to other veterans on the Lakers. It will be intriguing to see if the Arkansas native is granted his wish to continue playing with players like D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura or if wholesale changes are on the way.
Austin Reaves reflects on third season with Lakers
When preparing for his third season in the NBA, Reaves experienced a busy summer after having a deep playoff run and playing in the FIBA World Cup for Team USA. It became evident early in the 2023-24 season that he had heavy legs and looked fatigued at points. But now that the year is over, he reflected on his third season with the Lakers and was pleased with some of the things he was able to do.
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