Looks like Los Angeles Lakers are more than happy to keep Austin Reaves on the roster. Since the young star was heading toward free agency, the fans were curious to know how the front office would prevent him from moving to another team. But GM Rob Pelinka did it. There is no doubt that the Lakers have been spectacular in the offseason. They have made the best signing and re-signings so far. But the Lakers faithful would expect the Oklahoma Sooners kid to be even better than he was in his second NBA season.
Austin Reaves is an emerging superstar of the team. Evidently, after LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ era gets over, the Lakers will plan to build a team around Reaves. But for the next season, they have some specific plans for him. This is because the Arkansas native impressed everybody in the 2022-23 season. He averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.0 rebounds. Apparently, when James missed a month playing for the team, Reaves was there as a support for Davis along with D’Angelo Russell. As a result, after the team reached the playoffs, it was clear that AR was the third most valuable player behind – LeBron James and Anthony Davis. And looks like the LA side is planning to play Austin more in the offense, according to Jovan Buha.
Lakers Will Use Austin Reaves More In Offense From Next Season
It was a tricky situation when Austin Reaves was heading toward free agency. There were many teams who showed interest in signing him. But the Kobe fan wants to play for the LA side forever. The Lakers Faithful desperately wanted him to stay, and the front office made sure that happened. Austin Reaves then signed a four-year contract worth $56 million with the Lakers. And now the Athletics’ Jovan Buha has revealed how the Lakers are planning to use Reaves more in the offense from the next season.
Austin Reaves displayed good skills as a point guard throughout the couple of years he played for the Lakers. That’s what the team is planning to work on more from the 2023-24 season. The Oklahoma Sooners kid shot 52.9% from the field, 39.8% three-pointers, and 86.4% free throws. He went on to another level in the last playoffs, scoring 16.9 ppg, 4.6 apg, and 4.4 rpg. AR also helped the Lakers to blow away the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors in Rounds 1 & 2. Despite that, the Lakers were not successful against the Denver Nuggets. But Reaves was still performing well in the Western Conference Finals.
AR Tweets His Heart Out After Confirming The Extension
With this immense growth as a player and so fast, it is clear that at some point, Austin Reaves will dominate the game. He has a good rapport with the two stars of the LA side- LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Hence, it looks like AR will get even more time to hold the ball. Moreover, the Arkansas native will give his best for the team no matter what. As he mentioned on social media after the front office re-signed him, “Lakers for Life.” His excitement was quite clear, and the fans were happy as well. They will hope that AR takes them to their 18th championship next season.