Sports
NBA Rumors Suggest Lakers Got a Steal in Austin Reaves, Now Focus Shifts to Center – Bleacher Report
The perfect NBA offseason may not exist, but the Los Angeles Lakers are close to capping as ideal of an offseason as they could have, given their cap constraints.
Rob Pelinka and the L.A. front office have managed to bring in high-upside rotational players like Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince and Jaxson Hayes. They also managed to bring back key contributors like Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves.
Reaves, a budding star who averaged 13.0 points, three rebounds and 3.4 assists, was the key to kicking off a successful foray into free agency. Those numbers don’t accurately portray how valuable Reaves was late in the season and in the playoffs, where he was the team’s third-best player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Getting Reaves back on a four-year. $53.8 million deal was a bargain for Los Angeles, and recent reports suggest just how much of a steal that contract was.
“I think the Reaves contract has a chance to be one of the best contracts in the league from a team perspective, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on the Lowe Post podcast (h/t Matthew Valento of Lakers Nation). “And the Lakers got very, very lucky that nobody made them pay through the nose. And I know San Antonio was going back and forth on it and just for whatever reason didn’t do it, and that’s a steal.”
Retaining Reaves was huge because it allowed L.A. to come back to Russell at point guard instead of overpaying to find an upgrade either in free agency or in a sign-and-trade deal.
Yes, Russell’s limitations were on full display against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. However, those limitations may not be as much of a factor if Reaves overtakes Russell as the Lakers’ third offensive option—and according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, that is the plan:
“The Lakers plan on running more of their offense through Reaves next season, unlocking the point guard skills he’s flashed through his first two years in the league, according to team sources not authorized to speak publicly.”
So, the Lakers were able to bring back Russell on a relatively team-friendly two-year, $37 million deal and retain enough assets to sign the likes of Reddish and Hayes while using the 17th overall pick on Jalen Hood-Schifino.
On paper, the Lakers have a far superior roster to the one they had this time last year—and arguably much deeper than the one that reached the conference finals. According to Buha, though, L.A. isn’t quite finished:
“L.A. is targeting another big man with its 14th roster spot, according to team sources. They are likely to carry 14 guaranteed contracts into the season, leaving one roster spot open. Mo Bamba, whom the Lakers waived on Thursday, and Tristan Thompson, who joined the team right before their playoff run, remain options to fill that 14th spot, according to league sources.”
Bamba recently signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles may soon start seeing other options leave the market as well.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Phoenix Suns are not “frontrunners” to sign Bol Bol, who was recently waived by the Dallas Mavericks. Centers like Christian Wood and Bismack Biyombo are still out there, but there’s a good chance that the Lakers simply bring back Thompson for another run.
Thompson is a solid defensive player, but he doesn’t offer a ton offensively. However, that might not be a problem with Hayes playing behind Davis and two-way free agent Colin Castleton potentially in the mix.
Pelinka discussed the team’s envisioned role for Hayes during the ESPN broadcast of Friday’s summer league game against the Golden State Warriors (h/t Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll):
“He’s a big kid, rim protector, plays with a high level of energy and he’s also a really good screen setter, so when you have guards like D’Angelo Russell that really want to operate in the pick-and-roll and have Austin Reaves as a secondary ballhandler, we thought Jaxson would be a good fit with those guys with the way he plays.”
And summer league games have provided a few reasons to believe that L.A. may have also gotten a steal in Castleton.
As Buha recently explained, Castleton could serve as an offensive big deep in the team’s rotation.
“He’s more than just a big body—he’s an incredibly skilled offensive player,” Buha wrote, also noting that Castleton has showcased “advanced traits and instincts that only the best big-man passers have.”
Therefore, even if the Lakers bring back Thompson, who was added just before last year’s postseason, the center depth behind Davis stands to be much better and more versatile than it was a year ago. That’s relevant because Davis has a lengthy history of missing time due to injuries.
Los Angeles, though, will likely take its time before settling on Thompson or any other big man to round out its 14-man roster in order to make the best possible decision. There’s really no rush because, to this point, the Lakers’ offseason has already been a massive success.