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Austin Reaves was the biggest beneficiary of the Lakers' Russell Westbrook trade - US Today News

It's a new era in LA Get out of the way, LeBron James. Make room for... Austin Reaves. OK, chew on this for a minute, swallow the thought, and breathe. Austin Reaves was the biggest beneficiary of the Lakers' Russell Westbrook trade, and has been an All-Big-12 scorer since then. Reaves' 35-point outburst against the Orlando Magic on Sunday was followed by an impressive start against the Phoenix Suns. He provided 11 assists to pair with 25 points and was integral to Los Angeles’ win over the Suns. However, the rise of Reaves is also a necessary superlative on Rob Pelinka’s resume, as the lack of native, young talent in the Lakers roster since the 2019 purge has always made Lakers fans cynical about the LeBron-Pelinka era.

Austin Reaves was the biggest beneficiary of the Lakers' Russell Westbrook trade - US Today News

Опубликовано : 12 месяцев назад от Matthew West в Sports

It’s a new era in LA Get out of the way, LeBron James. Make room for… Austin Reaves. OK, chew on this for a minute, swallow the thought, and breathe. Alongside Reaves, there’s obviously still room in the Los Angeles Lakers lineup for the points king if he’s healthy enough to return to action. However, LeBron is 38 years old, so he can fill the gap if Reaves or Anthony Davis need backup.

Exaggeration aside, 24-year-old Reaves may already be hitting his ceiling, but LeBron’s still on the shelf, Davis is too injury-prone and the Lakers need a main character going down the stretch. Reave’s background as a farm boy from an Arkansas town of about 1,200 people only adds to the potential of Tinseltown in the story. Between his rise from shooting specialist at Wichita State to dynamic All-Big-12 scorer during his senior year in Oklahoma, Reaves has been anonymous on the national scene. Now he’s the rare white American NBA superstar.

Since Russell Westbrook was traded, Reaves has been the Lakers’ biggest beneficiary, and he’s soon showered with gamma-ray attention. Westbrook got the toxic form of that attention. We’re not close to Lin-sanity’s territory after Wednesday night’s showcase in a win over the Phoenix Suns, but it can’t be far behind. Following his 35-point blast against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, the NBA’s official YouTube page compiled an hour of “Austin Reaves Highlights.” Spend the time it would have taken you to look at saccharin Teddy Lasso Content on some Reaves content instead. But what if he never really “goes away” like Linsanity?

Darvin Ham responded to Reaves’ career-high outburst on Sunday by starting Reaves against the Phoenix Suns. In Reaves’ opening frame as a starter, he delivered 10 points. At the end of the first, his confidence grew after he threw Cam Payne off balance and sliced ​​through the alley to score a nifty tear over a big finish that had everyone watching and staring at the ramp as he imagined that Jim Ross tinnitused us all, screeching, “Bah gawd, that’s the music of Stone Cold Reaves Austin!”

He even provided 11 assists to pair with 25 points and was integral to Los Angeles’ win over the Suns. These 25 didn’t just shoot from behind the bow either. He began by putting Chris Paul on the menu, body-pushing Chris Paul off him, pulling a foul, hanging in the air for an extra tick, and landing a clean pull-up.

But the rise of Reaves is also a necessary superlative on Rob Pelinka’s resume. The lack of native, young talent in the Lakers roster since the 2019 purge has always made Lakers fans cynical about the LeBron-Pelinka era. Reaves would be the first native talent to show up in LA since Alex Caruso. Caruso earned his place in the league as a contemporary Billy Hoyle-class combo guard who emphasized lockdown defense and occasionally flashed “sneaky athleticism.” But he didn’t generate offense from high-capacity dribbling, thriving in pick-and-rolls with Davis and getting on the line.

Late draft picks and undrafted free agents can change franchise development in more unexpected ways than overspending on free agents. An extreme example is the Golden State Warriors and Draymond Green. Or, more modestly, the New Jersey Nets, who found a Benjamin on the sidewalk in the form of Stephen Jackson around 2001. As of 2020, the Lakers rely on more stringers and free agents than most of the league’s 30 regional franchises. The return of D’Angelo Russell was a popular move because it was the triumphant return of a player who grew dear to them after being shipped off in 2017 to make room for them to design Lonzo Ball.

Talen Horton-Tucker’s microwave hit and ridiculous wingspan earned him the adoration of the Laker Nation and got Pelinka to prioritize him over Caruso, but he could only dribble to one side and his 27 percent career 3-point shooting had a dampening effect on ground clearance. However, the discovery of a playful wing could be a boost for a Laker team that probably won’t compete next year but needed to find a complementary piece for its 2024 run. However, Reaves could be better than complementary.

In his last 11 games since March 1, he’s attempted 18 points, five boards, eight free throws per contest while posting many 56 percent from the field, 37 percent from range and pulling 83 percent of his giveaways from the charity strip. Of course, Reaves’ timing makes it more expensive to keep him in purple and gold as he enters restricted free hands this summer. The defense will adjust to Reaves’ tendencies and then we’ll see what he’s made of, but it’s positive when teams shift a small percentage of their focus and effort to a contributor who isn’t Russell, Davis or LeBron.

The Lakers also need to transfer a higher percentage of their salary cap to Reaves. He’s played well enough that the Lakers are reportedly ready and willing to offer him a four-year deal worth $50 million this offseason, or go higher if he agrees to a lucrative offer hand elsewhere.

Reaves didn’t make Caruso the fourth-highest scoring among guards on All-Star voting in the Hypebeast machine, but if Caruso and a forward named Anthony Davis made a bron-less roster into the postseason or play-in can lead, then he’ll do two things. Reaves will earn a place in Laker history, secure a future on the list, and provide some nutrition in the blank calorie list compiled around LeBron for this season and beyond.

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Темы: Basketball, Sports Figures, NBA, Los Angeles Lakers, Russell Westbrook

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