The Los Angeles Lakers’ prospects have improved lately, and one reason why is the emergence of second-year wing Austin Reaves.
He has played extremely well recently and has earned his flowers as a result. However, former player Rashad McCants had some harsh words to say about him, and he even seemed to play the race card while on “Gil’s Arena.”
“…I’m like Austin Reaves…y’all giving [50 million] to him ’cause one he white and one he playing with the Lakers and they trash,” said McCants. “So it’s like, if the Lakers ain’t trash, he ain’t playin’.”
McCants said this while discussing the contract offers Reaves could receive this summer when he will be a free agent. The Lakers can offer him a maximum of $50 million over four years this summer, but there is a real chance another team will offer him significantly more money, which could set up a dilemma for them.
Reaves may not be an All-Star in the making, but he has become a very good and solid rotation player for the Purple and Gold. Early in the season, it was clear the undrafted player had dramatically improved his 3-point shooting, and soon afterward, fans noticed that he had become pretty adept at drawing fouls and absorbing contact.
He has also proved to be a solid ball-handler and facilitator, and while he may not be skilled enough to be a good team’s primary ball-handler or facilitator, he does very well in a secondary role alongside LeBron James and now D’Angelo Russell.
Reaves has been averaging 12.2 points and 3.1 assists a game this season. He is also one of the NBA’s most efficient players, as he’s hitting 51.2 percent of his shots, 37.8 percent from 3-point range and 86.1 percent from the free-throw line.
He dominated in Sunday’s win over the Orlando Magic with 35 points, which included 18 free-throw attempts, of which he made 16, and he followed it up with 25 points and 11 assists when L.A. defeated the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
McCants even compared what Reaves has been doing lately to Jeremy Lin’s brief run in 2012, but it seems the Arkansas native has greater staying power because of his nicely polished skill set.
