Getty Lakers guard Austin Reaves
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves could make NBA history this season.
The Arkansas product has the fourth-best odds (+6000) to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award, per Sportsbetting.ag. New York Knicks point guard Immanuel Quickley is the favorite to win the award.
Reaves has appeared in 57 games for the Lakers this season. He’s averaging 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 51.4% from the field, 37.8% from beyond the arc and 85.7% from the free-throw line. Reaves has started only 15 games, so he’s eligible to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
The Lakers are 37-38 on the season. They are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings.
Austin Reaves Wants to Get Paid This Summer
Reaves becomes a restricted free agent this summer and the combo guard wants to get paid. As a restricted free agent, Reaves can re-sign with the Lakers or sign an offer sheet with another team. Los Angeles can match any offer sheet Reaves signs as long as it comes within 48 hours.
Austin Reaves says he’d like to stay with the Lakers but the NBA is a business
“Anybody that says we don’t play the game for money is lying… I want to make as much money as I can and be as successful as I can no matter where it’s at.”
(Via @pointforward )
Reaves and the Lakers have mutual interest in a new contract this offseason, according to a March 20 report from Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The purple and gold value Reaves and everything he brings to the table on a nightly basis.
“Reaves’ surge is setting him up for a fascinating offseason,” Buha wrote. “He will be a restricted free agent this summer, and will undoubtedly have multiple suitors looking to pry him from the Lakers — especially after stat lines like Sunday’s. Both the Lakers and Reaves’ camp have interest in Reaves re-signing in Los Angeles, according to multiple league sources who were granted anonymity so that they could speak freely. The max the Lakers can offer Reaves is a four-year, $50.8 million contract if they chose to use his Early Bird Rights, but they also have the power to match any contract he signs with another team.”
The maximum the Lakers can offer Reaves this summer is a four-year, $50.8 million contract if they use his Early Bird Rights, per Buha. Reaves told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype in February that he loves being in Los Angeles and playing for the Lakers.
“I don’t really think that far ahead,” Reaves said about his free agency. “I’m just trying to win games. I love being in Los Angeles, and I love being a Laker. Kobe Bryant was my favorite player growing up, so getting an opportunity to play for the Lakers is a big blessing.”
Austin Reaves Backs Anthony Davis
Reaves told Dave McMenamin of ESPN on March 24 that Lakers big man Anthony Davis has “been a f***ing monster” this season. Davis has occasionally gotten ripped by Lakers fans due to his inability to stay healthy.
“He’s been a f***ing monster,” Reaves said about Davis. “I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves as a basketball player. I think people see the games missed and knock him for that. Obviously, availability is a big thing, but like, as a basketball player, I feel like there’s not many people his height with the skill set that he has.”
Davis has appeared in 49 games this season. The eight-time All-Star is averaging 25.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 blocks.