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LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers decided to trade D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets this past weekend, it signaled two things. The first was their need to address their front-court depth and versatility, which they did by acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith. The second was it signaled the Lakers' confidence in Austin Reaves playing the role of full-time point guard.
In fact, Austin Reaves' recent role as the primary ball-handler gave the Lakers more confidence to make the D'Angelo Russell trade. Reaves has had three-straight games of impressive basketball, beginning with the Lakers' Christmas Day win against the Golden State Warriors when he finished with his first career triple-double of 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
But with added responsibility also comes the increased opportunity for error. Reaves got off to a slow start and made a couple of mistakes early during the Lakers' 122-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on New Year's Eve. He eventually got into his flow and tied a career-high of 35 points. After the game, Reaves spoke about his increased role and how he's still growing into it.
“It's fun. Like I said, I'm gonna mess up, gonna do dumb things, and I'm gonna learn from them. That's all I can really do. I'm kind of taking this role on the fly, trading D'Lo, getting more on-ball reps,” Reaves said.
“I'm just in my fourth year in the league, and every day, I can still learn something new; I'm really excited to continue to learn, continue to grow and become a better player.”
If Reaves can keep up his recent level of production, then the Lakers should be set in the backcourt.
Austin Reaves as Lakers point guard
Now in his fourth season with the Lakers, Reaves has become one of their most dependable players while having a steal of a contract. When he was approaching restricted free agency in the summer of 2023, the Lakers quickly locked him up with a four-year contract extension worth around $56 million. That's now one of the best bargain deals in the NBA.
The Lakers have Reaves under contract through the 2026-27 season. While his production on the court is certainly valuable, what's even more important for the team's success is the mentality he brings each and every game.
“Just like I always say, play the game the right way and just do what the game calls for. If it's scoring, score. If it's not, make plays. At the end of the day, just get us organized, get us in stuff that we need to get in. Obviously get Bron and AD the ball because good things happen when that happens,” Reaves said.
“Just trying to be a floor general, a coach out there that they can trust to run things through…just get everybody organized, get us in good offense, and defensively talk, and all those little things.”
Overall this season, Reaves has been averaging 18.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.0 steals with splits of 44.9 percent shooting from the field, 36.1 percent shooting from the three-point line, and 80.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line. His points, assists, and steals are career-highs, and his rebounds ties a career-high.
