Austin Reaves Discussion: How Much Is He Worth?

His agent knew and said it this past summer during the trade AR frenzy within Laker Nation. At his low salary level and cap hold (really bad move). Before even seeing what he looked like this year, yet again taking his game to a higher level.

 

Seems like everyone was predicting us to have a 1A and 1B, they just had the wrong guy as our 1B!! I think we end up with a 1A, 1B and 1C. Let's just pray that Lebron comes back as good as last year.

 

Honestly, Magic, Scott and Cooper were a great trio at guard. Not many are better. I think Luka, Reaves and Smart are in that category.

 

AR is the anti-Kuzma

 

.... yeah I'm thinking AR passes on this look.

 

Austin better at something, other than golf, than Luka?

 

take your medication

 

Well is there was a worry about AR getting overwhelmed by physical athletic POA defenders this is the game for you.

That being said JJ needs to helps his players here. Get AR some PnR when they're converging on Luka

 

In all fairness, I’ve seen Austin go up against some really good defenders over his career and still cook them. OKC, though, has a roster full of athletic guys who can swarm you and make life miserable. They’re probably one of the few teams that can throw wave after wave of capable defenders at you. It’s impressive—and if they stay healthy, I think they have a real shot to repeat. They’re that good.

Looking at the numbers after tonight, Austin’s still sitting at about 62.4% TS, while the average shooting guard is around 58%. So he’s still performing above the positional average. That said, I still wouldn’t max him out. I’ve always believed he’s the ideal third option—someone who can consistently win those matchups and thrive in that role.

If Austin’s your number two against a team like OKC—or anyone built similarly—you’re probably losing that series in five or six, in my opinion.

All good, though. It’s a long season. He’ll be fine.