Arguably the most important move the Los Angeles Lakers made this offseason was signing guard Austin Reaves to a new four-year, $56 million contract. Following the All-Star break, Reaves blossomed into one of the team’s most important players and was outstanding throughout the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference Finals.
In addition to retaining Reaves, the Lakers also brought back forward Rui Hachimura and guard D’Angelo Russell while adding a couple of proven vets in Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince as well as high-upside guys like Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish.
This has led many to proclaim the Lakers to be one of the offseason winners and Reaves agrees, telling Sam Yip of HoopsHype that he loves the moves the franchise made this summer and believes the new pieces fit well with what the team needs:
“I feel really, really good about what we did. You bring back the core that went to the Western Conference Finals and those pieces fit really well with what we kinda need because we lacked that last year. Overall, everybody’s competitive, and we kinda got that taste last year of running it back and trying to win a championship.”
Reaves also made it clear that there is one goal and one goal only for this Lakers team, and that is to bring home the NBA Championship:
“The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.”
The Lakers are a franchise predicated on winning championships and that is not lost on anyone on this roster. Reaves understands that is the ultimate goal and anyone who joins the team will have no questions about what this team is playing for.
The road will not be easy as the Western Conference is absolutely stacked and even the teams who may be at the bottom of the standings will still have multiple very good players and be tough outs. But the Lakers came very close to achieving that goal last season in making the conference finals and with Reaves taking another leap, and the new additions providing a new element, the Lakers hope that will get them over the hump.
Team USA coach Steve Kerr describes Lakers Austin Reaves as a ‘connector’
Reaves is currently gearing up for the regular season as a member of Team USA and will take part in the upcoming FIBA World Cup. The coach of this talented young team is Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and he has had a lot of praise for Reaves throughout the process so far.
Kerr recently described Reaves as a ‘connector’ who is able to fit into any lineup because of his overall skill level and high basketball IQ. Kerr noted that any time the Lakers guard is in, the ball always seems to find the right spot and the right plays are made.
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