Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been one of the most talked about and debated players over the offseason. While many believe he has proven himself to be an excellent NBA player with plenty of room to grow, others believe he is overrated and not worth the money he received this summer.
One thing that is for sure is that Reaves will work hard to prove all of his doubters wrong and Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy knows that Reaves’ rise to prominence was no accident.
The well-respected coach recently spoke about Reaves, ensuring that he is no fluke and is here to stay, via Mirin Fader of The Ringer:
“People are going to look at Austin and say, ‘Oh, man. This white kid got paid,’” Handy says. “I think he’s just out to prove that, ‘Look, whatever paycheck I got, I earned this contract.’ And he did.”
“This is not a fluke,” Handy says. “It’s all about just continuing to show people that he wasn’t a one-trick pony. That he’s here to stay.”
Reaves signed a four-year, $56 million contract with the Lakers this summer, though he could have gotten an even bigger one from a different team. But the Lakers were able to scare teams away from offering that deal in free agency as they ensured everyone that they would match whatever offer the restricted free agent received.
As such, while Reaves still got a big contract, it isn’t as big as it could’ve been. But Handy regularly reminds Reaves that a bigger deal can still come down the line as long as he continues to perform:
But Handy has reminded Reaves that if he continues to prove himself, his life would change even more. He has the potential to make even more money in the future. Handy told Reaves’s agents: “Look, I think this bag that you got, this is what we call a little bag. Now it’s time for you to go get a big bag.”
In order for Reaves to get that ‘big bag,’ he will have to continue putting in the work and improving. Handy knows that the Lakers guard will not rest on his laurels or get complacent now that he has secured a long-term contract:
“Unfortunately, there are some players who get the money and they get the contract, and they rest,” Handy says. And then there’s some players that say, ‘This is exactly what I needed. Now I can really focus on my craft. Now I can really become the best professional that I can be.’ … That’s the space that Austin’s in and making sure that he doesn’t rest. There’s nothing to be complacent about. The kid is young, and I think he’s got an even brighter future.”
The Lakers will be relying on Reaves even more in the coming years so the spotlight will be on him. If he continues to come through as he did last season he will indeed have even bigger contracts coming his way in the future.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves apologized to official after receiving technical foul vs. Warriors
Reaves is already off to a great start, looking excellent in the Lakers preseason so far. Uncharacteristically, the guard received a technical foul in a recent contest against the Golden State Warriors and while he still is unsure as to why he got it, he did apologize to the official afterwards.
“I don’t know. That’s a great question,” Reaves said of why he got the technical. “No I just felt like there was a similar play in the first quarter when I pump faked and tried to step through towards the basket to shoot like a little floater.
“But I talked to the ref about it and he said it was two totally different plays, he said I fouled Steph (Curry) with my hands. It wasn’t my jumping towards him. And I just asked him — because he said it was going into a shooting motion but I didn’t think people shot like that — and we talked it out and, yeah, I don’t know. My dad texted me about that and I apologized to the ref.”
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