Peter Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
After successfully making the playoffs, Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reeves is expected to cash in on his free agency.
Reeves was reportedly pursued by teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, but he ultimately re-signed with the Lakers, a team he had always wanted to join.
The former undrafted guard is now expected to take on more responsibility in the upcoming 2023-24 season as he has proven he can handle more ball-handling duties. Reeves’ rise will give LeBron James more opportunities to rest on the ball, which should make him more dynamic in the playoffs.
During an appearance on the Low Post podcast with ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Reeves discussed James’ trust in him and when he knew he had truly earned it:
“There were no real conversations like that off the court. I knew from day one that we connected on an IQ level just thinking about the game differently than other people. But what stood out to me the most, even in the postseason game, that was the first game against Memphis when I really played a quarter of the game. I struggled in the first half, I think I went 2-for-7 in the first half and then in the fourth Going forward in the fourth quarter, I remember I had two buckets in a row and somebody, I thought Bane might’ve shot a wing three-pointer on the right side and the ball fell off and I didn’t know if DLo got the rebound or if Vando got it The rebound, but I was on the left side and I just went and ran. They passed the ball to LeBron and I think that was right before I made the three and I was just running down the floor and I heard LeBron yell at me. Shout, “AR is back! “He just threw the ball to me. I was like, ‘Oh, shit.’ In my opinion, I have the greatest player ever, and I don’t want to say defer to me at this moment, but give me the ball at this moment.” . Like, “Okay, you have something to do. “Because he knows, I don’t care if I score, I don’t care if I play for someone else, I just want to win.
“But when that happens, obviously in my brain… it probably should go somewhere else, but I just keep sitting there thinking I’ve got to make something good happen. I don’t care if I miss the shot, Anyway, we got a good shot, no matter what, but good things happen. I couldn’t come back, couldn’t take a bad shot, but I thought I could make a three. After that, same thing. Handed the ball over again To me, I could tell from that point on that the level of trust was even higher than I knew at the time.”
The Memphis Grizzlies series marked Reeves’ debut, and with James still dealing with a foot ailment, he didn’t hesitate to let the guard handle clutch scoring. It should be said that James’ willingness to let Reeves handle the ball so much in high-pressure games will only make him better moving forward.
Austin Reeves reveals location of LeBron James’ annual minicamp
Before training camp every year, James holds a player-only mini-camp, and Reeves revealed that the team meets in San Diego and everyone participates in pre-season chemistry.
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