- Report: Lakers downgrade D’Angelo Russell’s status for Friday’s matchup vs. Thunder
- Kendrick Perkins rips ‘borderline senior citizen’ Chris Paul for letting Austin Reaves drop 25 points on him
- Anthony Davis issues confident statement on Lakers playoff hopes: ‘You put anybody against us, I like our chances’
- Anthony Davis declares that he and LeBron James have ‘one of the best relationships’ among duos in the NBA
- Former teammate of Kobe and LeBron says Kobe was ‘like Mike’ while LeBron was more ‘happy-go-lucky’
- Report: LeBron James has resumed on-court activity for Lakers
- Monty Williams sounds off on free-throw disparity in Lakers-Suns game
- Patrick Beverley implies his opinion wasn’t valued on Lakers
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says he never liked LeBron’s game
- Germany recruiting Austin Reaves to play for them in the World Cup
Shams Charania says Austin Reaves was snubbed from Rising Stars Challenge
- Updated: February 1, 2023
Los Angles Lakers youngster Austin Reaves was left off the roster for the league’s Rising Stars Challenge, and NBA insider Shams Charania believes he was one of the biggest snubs from the roster.
.@ShamsCharania with some of his biggest Rising Star snubs this year on #RunItBack 🤧
• Shaedon Sharpe
• Austin Reaves
• Jonathan Kuminga
• Ayo Dosunmu
• Herb JonesWhat do you think? pic.twitter.com/DbQ8hyMrbb
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) February 1, 2023
Some people have taken issue with the fact that some G League players have been named as participants for the game. Lakers two-way player Scotty Pippen Jr., who has spent most of his time this season in the G League, was named to the roster for the game.
Reaves has been having a solid sophomore season for the Lakers, recording 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while knocking down 48.8 percent of his shots from the field and 36.0 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
The 24-year-old has been out of the lineup since early January as he deals with a hamstring injury. He’s set to be re-evaluated by the team on Thursday, so perhaps his injury status is a reason why he was left off the roster.
The Lakers have gone 7-7 in the 14 games that Reaves has missed with the injury.
In his little time with the Purple and Gold, the University of Oklahoma product has become a fan favorite and staple in the rotation. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the Lakers are reportedly expected to look at retaining him.
They might have to shell out a pretty penny, however, as Lakers insider Jovan Buha recently stated that he’s going to command more money than Alex Caruso did when he was a free agent.
Los Angeles is surely hoping that Reaves can return as soon as possible. It needs all the help it can get in its playoff push, as the franchise currently sits in 13th place in the Western Conference.
Despite that standing, there is still some hope due to the fact that the Golden State Warriors are only three games ahead of the Lakers in fifth place.
Furthermore, the Lakers are just two games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the conference’s last play-in tournament spot.
One NBA insider believes Rob Pelinka still has a “move or two left” in him to help make the Lakers competitive this season. Only time will tell if Pelinka ends up making any more deals.