Austin Reaves’s place in the Los Angeles Lakers starting lineup is progressively declining.
Austin Reaves, a shooting guard, and Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham seem to be at odds.
According to Anthony Irwin of the “Lakers Lounge podcast,” Ham does not think as highly of Reaves’ abilities as some fans may.
This potential relationship between Ham and (Reaves) is… I’m here to tell you that, based on what I’ve heard, Ham, for whatever reason, doesn’t bother Austin in the way you might assume. It must be rectified,” Irwin stated. “This could get so bad that it involves an agent or the front office and people start wondering what factors are taken into account when making decisions.”
During the Los Angeles Lakers’ postseason run, Austin Reaves was crucial.
Reaves entered the game during the playoffs of the previous season and gave the Lakers, who had been relying too heavily on LeBron James and Anthony Davis, a third option. This season, he has also experienced some significant moments, particularly during the NBA In-Season Tournament.
From then on, it appeared as though Reaves would start for the Lakers, but Ham benched him after nine games this season.
Ham claimed at the time that he was doing this to turn Reaves into a vital member of the second unit and ensure that the Lakers wouldn’t falter when James and Davis had a moment to themselves. He gave the example of the recent great San Antonio Spurs teams.
“It was more about balancing the units—everyone knew Manu (Ginobili) was a starter,” Darvin said to reporters following a game against Phoenix. “(Austin) continued for 35 minutes. He was going to play out the game; his minutes were not going to decrease. Near the end, he was enormous.
