With the 2024 NBA Finals set to begin later this week, the Los Angeles Lakers, like the rest of the league, will be eagerly waiting to see who emerges as champion between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.
The Lakers were bounced out of the first round, setting up what should be an eventful summer. Not only does Los Angeles need to settle on their next head coach, but they’ll also need to upgrade the roster in some capacity.
Austin Reaves enjoyed being around his teammates this past season and believes the Lakers can be better during the 2024-25 season, though major changes could be coming if the right deal presents itself.
As far as what Los Angeles needs to do to get back to competing for championships, Reaves believes the team needs to invest its current group.
“It’s a tough question because it’s such a tough league,” Reaves said. “There’s so many teams that are growing, you see like the OKCs, the Minnesotas and obviously the two teams that are left, young teams that have been together for a while and learned to play in a system around one another.
“I feel like that’s something you need in any sport you play, like consistency in basically a system and just growing that with what we have, obviously Bron and AD is a very special duo to have, but just growing a system around those two to basically help in whatever they need and then playing around them. But I think that we’re heading in the right direction, obviously with a coaching change coming up. I don’t know when they’re hiring a coach, so I’m right there with y’all on that news. But hopefully we get somebody that comes to work every single day the way that we do ready to go try to win a championship.”
Continuity has been a hot topic for the Lakers since they broke up their 2020 championship roster, and it sounds like Reaves would like to see the team get another shot to compete. Reaves also brings up the head coaching search and the right candidate would go a long way in getting L.A. back to the top.
Reed Sheppard looks up to Lakers’ Austin Reaves
Austin Reaves has become one of the best role players in the league and serves as a great example for prospects in the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft.
For example, Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard is often compared to Reaves and the former Wildcat revealed that he looks up to the Lakers guard.
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