Austin Reaves Discussion: How Much Is He Worth?

Not for me.Been saying for 3 years they should trade him and it’s not getting any better it’s getting worse

 

Last 10 playoff games 40% and 28%
Not a good look for your 2nd best player

 

wouldn't even be worrying if he could actually defend, but the fact is that he's also one of the worst defenders in the league.

 

Mitchell just going at him was depressing mostly because AR is one of my guys. Love watching him and seeing him getting clowned like that is no fun.

That being said I think he can get better - you see how Luka did improve pretty dramatically on D as the season progressed. He needs to get stronger physically - hit the weight room AR.

 

I'm not sure if AR can bridge this particular gap, AJ and SGA took him out to the logo and beat him with speed 1 on 1 repeatedly. I actually think AR has improved significantly in half court sets. None of that matters if he is giving it back on the offensive end - tonight he just couldn't but tried hard.

 

Hmmm....

 

Yeah I love AR but it's been a bloodbath.
There's important context here though: he's coming from injury and certainly lost a step which makes it worse against an elite offense and defense. And there's no Luka so more attention and a better defender on him.

Regardless, I am struggling to see AR as the #2 option. Our only Bron lineups have been better than the only Reaves and that's an issue moving forward and impacts how you build the roster this summer

No question for me that we re-sign AR but that number is going down by the minute. Still think the 35 mil range is fair based on his performance, the market this summer and the comp with similar salaries across the league, but his signing is getting to the point where we gotta see him as a 3rd option or at least a 2b and that matters on the next moves we make

In theory, I always believed that a defensive first guard is the best pairing with Luka, as someone that fully complements him and is stronger in the areas he is not, although we never saw it and he had success with Brunson and Kyrie. But it's definitely something I'm starting to warm up to as the ideal build around Luka. If the case, we don't get it next year because AR isn't S&T anywhere but it may be a trade we line up and execute within the next couple years

 

One dilemma is that if we invest in a high end defensive guard, to shore up the Austin/Luka defensive issues. What are we going to have to throw at these frontcourts in the West?

OKC, Denver, San Antonio, Minnesota, Utah, Houston, Dallas...man...these guys have some high end players, manning thier frontcourts too. If Portland gets Giannis or AD? Jeesh..


I know some folks seem more concerned about the POA, but we gotta start picking up some more talent, on our frontcourt too, moving forward.

 

Judging by his playoffs body of work. Austin is more of a high end 3rd option. That's valuable too, but that assessment comes with a salary reduction.

 

Yup, AR isn’t effective, when not getting the calls, just like every other ball handler in the NBA who thrives on getting to the hoop.
He does need to get stronger.
He also needs to play on a more balanced team.
Anyway, carry on with the “it’s all n Austin” that we lost to the deepest squad since the 99/00 Blazers.
Our losing has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that our MVP candidate can’t play.

 

i have no new comments. see previous.

 

I want to hear the excuses for him last year when Luka was on the court during the playoffs and he was still terrible.Who is blaming AR for losing to the Thunder? I said during the first round the thunder would destroy them.Pointing out his play isn’t blaming him it’s pointing out his play

 

He’s going to get paid, and he’s probably going to be back in Los Angeles. I don’t think most of us mind that part — we can debate the salary, but I think everyone generally likes Austin. He worked himself from being an undrafted FA into a pretty damn good player.

That said, if ownership and Rob are smart, they’ll realize he’s not a player you build around, IMO. Luka, Wemby, Cade, Jokic — those are franchise-level guys you structure an entire roster around and find complementary pieces for. There are very few players like that in the league, and the Lakers are fortunate enough to have one of them moving forward.

Austin is a really good complementary piece, and for the most part he has fit well here, but I think he’s been slotted incorrectly, which isn’t his fault. In the right role, I absolutely think he can be part of a championship core if the roster is constructed properly. But in that context, he probably can’t be your second-best player.

The issue — and I’ve been saying this for the last year — is that he’s also our best trade asset. We’ve missed on first-round picks, moved draft capital, and in any real discussion about improving the roster, he’s the guy other teams are going to ask for. So what happens after you pay him? Do you settle into being a really good regular season team that wins 50 games, finishes top 4, is fun to watch, and then gets bounced in the second round every year because no real impact additions were made?

I’m not claiming to be some X’s and O’s expert or player development specialist, but I know what I’m looking at when I watch Austin. Jovan says he’s likely coming back, the floor is probably around $30 million annually, and he’ll continue being the Lakers’ second or third-best player. If that’s the path, then I think you should probably expect similar playoff results moving forward — maybe you win another game or two with a healthy Luka, but that’s about it.

At some point, the sample size matters. As lawyers would say, we’ve now established a “propensity” for this type of playoff outcome with the current structure of the roster.

 

Yep. This series:

Player A: 21.0 pts, 5.7 asts, 2.7 rebs, 1.3 3's, 48.6% from 2, 78.9% from the line for 6.3 FTM

Player B: 18.7 pts, 7.0 asts, 3.3 rebs, 1.3 3's, 48.3% from 2, 80.0% from the line for 6.7 FTM

One of these is the MVP, and the other can't be a #2 option and is getting trashed by many here.



(And yes, Austin has shot terribly from 3, going 4/16 for 25.0%. He makes just 1 of those per game, and he's been better offensively than Shai this series. And that's not even considering the differences in their whistle. While Shai isn't getting quite as egregious a whistle as the regular season, we can all see him still flopping and flailing all around and still getting a number of undeserved FT's.)

 

How dare you bring facts up!
AR needs to be at MVP level, even when returning from injury and win DPOY to be valuable to the Lakers.

 

Well one guy has a deep squad behind him, the other guy needs to elevate above his normal levels, in order to win. Huge difference.

If AD or LeBron was out, you totally expected the other guy, to step up and be your best player. That's without question;dinged up or not. No excuses

That's the definition of a true 2nd option.

 

One guy been double teamed constantly the other struggles to beat one defender….context matters