Austin Reaves Discussion: "Keeping The Vibes High"

Could be near Kobe levels by the time all is said and done.

Don't get all riled up, I said near, not the same, and the defense isn't there. But their 1st 5 years in the league show the same pattern of growth, partially due to playing next to generational players. Yes, Austin came in much older, but with the level he's showing now, it's just a question of how long he can do that for, or even 80-90% of recent play. His future years with Luka could be very Kobe-Shaq like, in a different way, and they can win a few championships together if the defense and pieces around them are put together and perform properly.

 

Austin: "He probably talking about himself!"



Great post-game:



GOAT teammate mentality, whether 1st to 3rd option, GOAT stepping up ability and development into a leader, and GOAT humility, not to want to keep the limelight himself and stay the 1st option putting up MVP-level stats, but rather, begging teammates to come back and help the team.

Q: No LeBron, no Luka - how much of this is on you, not to just score, but to lead the team?

Austin: Even when they're playing, I put a big responsibility on myself. It's different responsibilities, obviously, because they do so much for our team, but when we don't have them, the responsibility changes. Physically, it's a little more, but I'm always mentally trying to figure out how I can help, with them two, and without them two. It's definitely different in the sense of how I have to play and how I have to conduct myself. I can't get frustrated, because at that time, everyone's looking at me, and in those situations, you have to be calm, be confident, and lead your guys. Like we were up 10 or so, and they went on a run, and it's not hard to kinda crumble in those situations, but you gotta keep the energy high, you gotta keep the spirit high...but saying all that - everybody, not just them two - PLEASE come back!

[later] It's a good feeling, the camaraderie that we've built in a short period of time has been great, and we're gonna continue to do that. Like I said, everybody get back, Luka get back, Bron get back, and Luka stop talking about yourself!

 

I think that's a fair take.

 

It's completely moving the goalposts, without admitting that he has already been proven wrong. This was the original take:

He thinks Austin is just a guy chasing stats who can't lead the team to W's.

(And mocks him declining a $20m/yr extension.)

 

I can understand people still under selling Austin because he has always been the team guy without his ego getting in the way. I was hooked on Austin's game when he was in college and have watched him very closely. He has shown this kind of play was possible for some time now. It is all coming together with the work and the opportunity to shine. What really makes him special is that his ego won't get in the way when Luka and even Lebron comes back. I was almost laughed off the platform the first few years for pointing out Austin's talent and potential. When others return and his numbers settle back in people will again be saying it was all a fluke. He is now a top five player that plays both ends. Even these crazy numbers don't reflect Austin's worth. He deserves every dime we can give him.

 

Exactly. He's worth his max, but he'll settle for less, for the team. Lots of other players would be seeking different situations where they could do what he's been doing full time, and where everybody would see that they're max level players. He's not trying for that, even now, as shown in the post-game above. He wants to be a Laker for life, and some people are already ready to kick him to the curb, and talk about his current performances in terms of elevating his trade value. Smh. Just enjoy watching humble greatness rising up.

 

So something worth noting, Austin's cap hold is around $22 million.

The max Reaves can get I believe is around $42 million with 8% increases annually in his contract because it's based on a % of the salary cap and that's the highest % he can get.

The cap hold along with bird rights just means the Lakers can go over the cap to re-sign Reaves. So let's say they have $40m in cap space, they can sign someone for $18 million and then sign Reaves with the remaining $22 million in cap space whilst still being able to pay him $42 million.

It works in the Lakers favor and quite frankly, I think he's going to get that kind of money around the league.

He's still in his prime and whilst I don't think he's a 1st option player, if Bradley Beal was able to get a max, Reaves, who is a better winning player, will as well.

There is zero chance Reaves signs for $30 million. He's way overplayed his contract the past few years and this is his chance to get the big bucks.

So just to clarify, the only possible reason the Lakers wouldn't pay Reaves what he wants is if they are cheap and don't want to pay the luxury tax bill. This is actually a good test to see what the new owners do. Are they going to spend that money?

 

I am not being delusional about AR being the next West, or Kobe, or Magic. I know that isn't the case but what I do know is that he has been good since we brought him here. He has improved every single year. Getting 20 per last year was huge for us, it showed that we could depend on him. This years performances are a short window but we know what he has done up until now, this is not a giant jump, it is an incremental jump. He is earning the respect of Lebron and Luka, for sure. I have watched every single guard the Los Angeles Lakers have ever had, literally. We have had some dang good ones, AR is heading into their category, he deserves the respect from his teammates and from the fans. Is there room to grow and ascend? Sure, he is not in West's or Kobe's category yet, and I am not sure he can get there but I do think he has entered that Goodrich and Scott level, getting above that is unknowable at this point. I have my doubts but I am really happy with his current growth. I would probably have loved hanging out and drinking a beer with him.

 

In fact, it's delusional to think that he couldn't be at that level or couldnt be a 1st option long term. Nobody knows what will happen, I'm not saying that it's guaranteed,, I'm saying that the evidence so far supports it, and there is zero evidence against. Even with last season's playoffs disappointment, those #'s are 3rd option level, which is the role he was given. But when a 1st option, he has delivered every time. There is zero evidence otherwise. Again, I'm not saying that these #'s will continue long term, nobody could sustain this. I'm saying that 80% of this level is still a 1st option and it looks like he could continue that, and there are zero performances as a 1st option that say otherwise. So people doubting him are actually the ones operating from less evidence than those supporting him.

 

Yeah. I honestly just feel like everyone needs to embrace Austin's numbers and consistent improvement.

Put another way, if he was on another team putting up these numbers I feel like people would us to target him in a trade or as a free agent.

 

Well, when I mean 1st option, I am generally saying on a top playoffs contending team.

Sure, he could be a 1st option and you could build around him and maybe get around 40 wins but I think that's about it. It's not to say Reaves isn't good but there are very few championship 1st option-type players in the league. You're looking at around maybe only 10 players.

We're seeing it now a bit where Reaves seems to be exhausted every game getting hounded by defenders. He's missing about $100m in salary cap to help him but I just see him more as a 2nd option in a title contender than a 1st option.

I was making the case that Reaves should've been the 2nd option behind LeBron last season instead of AD. I thought Reaves was better than AD on offense and that AD's role should've been more of the guy who played in Kentucky. Just rebound, defense, and catch lobs or easy baskets.

 

He has to be here long term.

 

i've been talking about this for a long time. we never had a 2027 plan. we have a 2026 plan. and that plan is to potentially use the fact that we have that extra 15-20 million in cap wiggle room thanks to reaves's low hold and lebron not having a PO.

now, if the FA market dries up due to trades and extensions, we might look to sacrifice that flexibility, but to me it's why we didn't make any splashy trade this summer.

after reaves is extended, we won't sniff space again, in all likelihood.

 

If that's what you're saying, then sure. That's a huge caveat, but you mean top 10 player. His 1st option performances already are at that level, but it is totally understandable to doubt that continuing for a season and playoffs.

However, 1st option on a playoffs team is not an unreasonable bar. For example, swap him and Cade Cunningham, and the Pistons are likely similar or better.

This is enormous though. If Reaves were the 1st option, but we had Smart, Vincent, a player that was 80% of Luka, and a player 80% of LeBron, then Austin wouldn't be nearly as exhausted.

This is actually where I'm at, despite me hyping AR a lot. I think he's a 1st option on a mid-level playoff team or worse, but I don't rule out the possibility of him being a 1st option on better. More realistically though, 2nd option next to Luka on a championship team is very reasonable. He is already better than the level that Kyrie or Brunson was when next to Luka. He would likely perform better than the level Kyrie was at when Luka went to the Finals. If they faced Indiana instead of Boston, they could have won a chip. Same with Austin as a #2, with the right team around them.

That would have been great.

Okay, looks like we're on a pretty similar page after all, just a matter of how we describe things. Cheers.

 

Yeah, I can never compare the two.
Austin’s great at what he does, but Kobe was one of the best lockdown defenders of his generation, and had otherworldly athletic abilities. Remember him dunking over Yao?
Remember him dunking on the entire Nets team as an older man?
Reaves has that “sneaky” athleticism, but his handle and ability to score over an entire team down low aren’t comparable to what Kobe did.
I hope Reaves is a part of multiple chips, but I don’t see him winning FIVE, unless we somehow trade for Wemby(which ain’t happening).
For me, Kobe and Jordan are on a tier much higher than the rest of the All Time greats.

 

Give him LeBron contact and give LeBron a pay cut.

 

Whether you call someone a 1st or 2nd option really doesn't make much difference. No one is going to win a championship without a good team around them. It comes down to how well can Luka and Austin play together. From what we have seen so far that would be pretty well. Every roster has a few weak spots but we are good enough to win it all. The biggest question we have is whether LeBron can be one of the guys or if he has to be the dude. If he can fit in, we are golden.

 

From NBA Today:

Players with 25 pts, 15 asts, and a game winning buzzer beater, in all NBA history:
1. Magic
2. LeBron
3. Austin

That's it. That's the list.


Players to ever average 40 pts & 10 asts or more, on 50/40/90 shooting or better, in any 3-game span, in all NBA history.
1. Dame
2. Austin

That's it. That's the list.

ETA: It's kind of shocking to me that Steph is not on the list. I guess he doesn't assist enough.

 

I was just referring to the original paragraph, that's it.

Austin is off to a great start but the comparison to hall of famers and top 20 players of all time that lead teams to championships is a bit premature.

Let's see how the season plays out and see if he delivers in the playoffs.