The Los Angeles Lakers have been playing better basketball as of late, but are still missing a key piece of the rotation in Austin Reaves.
Reaves has been sidelined the past few weeks with a hamstring injury, and while he has made progress, he was unable to suit up for the last three games of the Lakers’ recent road trip. Hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky to deal with and are easily re-aggravated so it makes sense why the training staff has been cautious with Reaves during his rehab process.
However, it sounds like Reaves has done well enough to return to action soon as Darvin Ham said he expects the sophomore to return sometime next week, via Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet:
Darvin Ham on Austin Reaves, who won’t play tonight as he continues to make his way back from the hamstring injury: “He should be available sometime next week.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) February 4, 2023
This is obviously good news for Ham and the Lakers as Reaves has been missed as another playmaker and scorer in half-court situations. Defensively he offers more size on the perimeter, another area that the current Los Angeles roster could bolster.
Injury luck finally seems to be turning in the Lakers’ favor as they’ve recently seen Anthony Davis and Lonnie Walker IV return, and getting Reaves back would finally put the team at 100 percent. With players in and out so often, Ham has had to utilize numerous different starting lineups which has led to several slow starts this season.
Los Angeles is slated to play three games next week: Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks and Saturday against the Golden State Warriors. A return for Reaves next week would coincide with one of these games, and while it would be good to have him back for an important game against the Thunder, it would not be surprising for the team to hold him out until later in the week.
Lakers not interested in trading Austin Reaves or Max Christie
Trade season is upon the league and the rumors and reports are starting to heat up. The Lakers find themselves at the center of most conversations as they desperately look for a deal to help improve a roster that has underwhelmed throughout most of the 2022-23 season.
L.A. is short on attractive pieces to add to deals outside of Reaves and Max Christie, but the organization is reportedly not interested in adding either of them to potential deals.
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