Cade Cunningham Tried To Recruit Austin Reaves To Pistons

One of the most important moves the Los Angeles Lakers made this offseason was re-signing guard Austin Reaves to a new four-year contract. While they did ultimately get the deal done, Reaves has been open about the process and at some points believing he would have to leave L.A. in order to get the money he desired.

A team that was known to have interest in Reaves was the Detroit Pistons, who were reportedly lining up trades in order to clear the necessary salary cap space to sign the Lakers guard. And their own superstar guard Cade Cunningham was apparently on the front line in trying to convince Reaves to come to Detroit.

“Banking on internal improvement has been the thought going back from last summer when they didn’t make a big move going into the season,” ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill said in an appearance on NBA Today. “They wanted to see how Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland would play together and it led to 60 wins. Now you’re thinking Detroit was going to go make a big move this past offseason. Cade Cunningham was very involved in the potential recruitment of Austin Reaves. Austin Reaves re-signed with the Lakers. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving. Those were all names the Pistons were interested in. No moves materialized and now they’re going to bank on the restricted free agent of Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson’s extension.”

The Pistons’ interest in Reaves made all the sense in the world. While they were one of the biggest surprise teams of the season, winning 60 games and nabbing the top seed in the East, they struggled to generate offense outside of Cunningham and that showed in a big way during the postseason. Reaves is a perfect secondary creator and Detroit and Cunningham likely saw him fitting in just the same way as he has alongside Luka Doncic.

Ultimately, it was likely the threat of the Pistons that pushed the Lakers to up their offer and ensure Reaves remained in L.A. And considering Reaves never wanted to leave anyway, once the money increased it was a done deal and Cunningham and the Pistons were left out to dry.

Lakers’ Austin Reaves calls Luka Doncic one of his best friends

While Reaves could have fit next to Cunningham excellently on the court, there is no way he could match the close friendship that Reaves and Doncic share off the court. In fact, Reaves recently referred to his Lakers backcourt partner as one of his best friends on the planet.