The Los Angeles Lakers’ roster has undergone some major changes from last season. LeBron James isn’t returning and the team has also lost a number of role players in Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart and others. The front office brought in a number of interesting pieces this summer in Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton, not to mention re-signing guard Austin Reaves to a four-year maximum contract.
Reaves is one of the few returning pieces and is now the longest-tenured member of the team. And while he admitted to it being tough to see so many of his teammates gone, he is very excited at the new pieces the Lakers added.
“I think they’re good,” Reaves said of the new additions. “I mean obviously being with the guys that are leaving for a couple years, and then Bron for five years, you hate to see guys like that go. But the pieces that are coming in, very excited about and happy to get started, kind of today, and see where it goes.”
The goal now will be for this group to begin building that chemistry together and Reaves will obviously be a big piece of that. It could also be expected for Reaves to take on more of a leadership role with this new roster, something he is willing to embrace if needed.
“Am I still the oldest guy on the team?” Reaves asked before being informed that new signee Kevon Looney is older. “Oh, perfect. I didn’t wanna be the oldest guy [laughs]. It’s just, everybody knows it’s a completely different team and there’s gonna be different things asked of different people. And if that’s what JJ and the staff ask of me I’ll do it to the best of my abilities.”
As surprising as it is to hear, Reaves was indeed the oldest Lakers player at 28 years old before the recent addition of Looney. Even players such as Sexton and Jarred Vanderbilt are a year younger despite entering the league three years before Reaves.
Nonetheless, Reaves has established himself as an All-Star caliber player and one of the core pieces of this Lakers franchise. And many will be looking for him to lead the way, alongside Luka Doncic, as the Lakers look to return to championship contention.
Draymond Green gives warning to Austin Reaves after signing new contract with Lakers
Reaves was previously on arguably the biggest bargain deal in the entire NBA before signing his new contract this summer. But now that he has that deal, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green warned him that the expectations and pressure will only increase from here.
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