Austin Reaves Discussion: How Much Is He Worth?

I don't know what his real value is yet, another playoffs run at 16pts per game, doesn't say near max to me. Austin has not proven to be a Kyrie or Jamal Murray, caliber player yet to me. We most likely need, another guy in the 30's, or two in the 20's...Still TBD.

 

If Ainge offers Kessler and fill ins in a S&T for Reaves do you say no? I believe the Lakers would get the better picks in such a trade

 

No, AR is like 2-3 tiers above Kessler as a basketball talent. A playmaker that can score 25+ pts on 65+ TS% don't grow on trees. AR is truly a rare talent.

And he fits with Luka, which is underappreciated. He may not be a 100% fit like Lively, but you have to ask yourself if it's worth trading away an Allstar-level player for a slightly better fit. An elite playmaker/scorer is much harder to find than a good defensive center. Don't forget how we failed for years to find a secondary ball-handler behind Lebron. Again, players like AR or Kyrie don't grow on trees.

The path is clear --- get off Lebron's $50M contract, then sign/trade for athletic wings and center. We have the most valuable piece next to Luka already. Go find the other pieces, and If that team doesn't work, then you can try to get off AR's contract. Not now.

 

Tough crowd. He was out for a month and a half with a calf injury. It will take more time to get his legs under him.

 

Fair enough.What if the Pels offer Murphy and Jones for him?

 

I'd try to trade all of our other assets for Murphy before trading AR.

In other words, AR is worth more than all of our draft picks and players (other than Luka of course) combined.

We'd still be considerably under the salary cap with a core of Luka, AR, and Murphy.

 

^What assets are we talking about? Our first round picks? They're not trading us Murphy without including Reaves. That would be moronic on the Pelicans part.