Lakerholics

With the signing of Christian Wood, the Lakers now have what could be the best 12-man rotation in the NBA if they can figure out how to get minutes for everybody and how to keep their older injury-prone superstars healthy.

While the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy has tightened rules about resting stars, the time’s come for the Lakers to embrace load management to keep LeBron James and Anthony Davis healthy and extend their careers.
Right now, the Lakers current roster is so deep and diverse the team has a unique opportunity to give all 12 legitimate rotation players viable minutes while also giving James, Davis, and other players well needed ‘rest’ games.

The Lakers’ problem is they have 12 legitimate rotation players but only enough minutes in any given game to realistically play 10 players. Luckily, having 12 quality rotation players is also an opportunity for the Lakers. Instead of settling for a 10-man rotation and turning 2 players into injury insurance, the Lakers should deploy an innovative 12-man rotation that ‘plays’ a different 10 players and ‘rests’ a different 2 players every game.

Having a 12-man rotation that allows the Lakers to rest 2 players every game while still putting a championship caliber lineup on the court should make the Lakers an even better and deeper team going into the playoffs. Because all their rotation players will have chances to play important minutes and some even to start games, their confidence, experience, and ability to play winning basketball should be dramatically improved.

Opportunity knock and the Lakers have the depth and diversity to answer. Their unorthodox 12-man rotation can both give the Lakers’ 12 rotation player needed minutes and their superstars and starters needed ‘rests.’

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Lakers Projected Depth Chart

Here’s the Lakers’ projected depth chart for next season per the Athletic’s Jovan Buha with Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis starting and Vincent, Christie, Prince, Vanderbilt, and Wood as the primary backups:

The above depth chart easily translates into a 10-man rotation comprised of the 5 starters and 5 primary backups at each of the five positions. The big problem with this 10-man rotation is that it leaves out Reddish and Hayes.

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Lakers Projected Rotation Minutes

Here are Buha’s projected minutes per game for the Lakers’ 10-man rotation that includes the five starters and primary backups but does not include Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, or the two rookie draft picks:

It’s easy to see from the above chart per player that the optimum Lakers rotation is probably 9 players as 4 minutes in each half for 8 minutes in a game is not enough for for Jarred Vanderbilt to get into any rhythm.

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How 12-Man Rotation Would Work

Here is a basic guide as to how the Lakers’ 12-man rotation would work to give all 12 of the team’s legitimate rotation players viable minutes to play while allowing James, Davis, and other players to rest every 7th game.

The Lakers 12-man rotation is just a blueprint or guideline rather than a firm set of inviolable rules Darvin Ham and LeBron James and Anthony Davis have to follow when deciding who plays and rests for each game.

Basically, the Lakers need to narrow the rotation for each game to the 10 players for whom they have minutes by not playing 2 players, who could be players who are actually injured or players who are getting a ‘rest day.’
The only load management limitation is the Lakers cannot rest both James and Davis, their two players classified as ‘stars,’ in the same game or rest either of them in nationally televised or in-season tournament games.

For the Lakers’ 12-man rotation to achieve its goals of giving all 12 rotation players viable minutes while resting superstars, all 12 legitimate rotation players need to participate in and benefit from the ‘rest days’ program.
While the reasons for load managing James and Davis are most important, teams are learning more and more that embracing load management can help keep the entire team healthier with fewer and less severe injuries.

The NBA just came out with new rules and penalties for team’s resting star players during nationally televised games, of which the Laker have 28, or resting two stars, which L.A. has in James and Davis, in the same game.
The NBA will not require players who are older than 35 years old or have severe injury history to play in back-to-back games not nationally televised. Of the Lakers 15 back-to-back games, 11 have nationally televised games.

That means James could rest during the first game and Davis during the second game of 4 or the 15 back-to-backs. Both would have to play in the 11 televised back-to-backs but one star could rest in the non-televised game.
Here are some other numbers to consider. The regular season includes 82 games. Lakers have 28 nationally televised games where they cannot rest either James or Davis, leaving just 54 games where they could rest one star.

By deploying a 12-man rotation, the Lakers are essentially embracing load management and committing to the idea that you can ultimately get more games and minutes from your major players by strategically resting them.

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Lakers 12-Man Rotation Is Winner

The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to have their cake and eat it too by building a team that can win at least one more championship before LeBron James retires but still be a title contender after he has gone.

Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham essentially have the Lakers now perfectly positioned to potentially pull off that seemingly miraculous double win as this Lakers team is clearly the deepest since LeBron signed with L.A.
The key to the Lakers winning their 18th championship is still the health of superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis but the Lakers suddenly have the depth now to give both superstars a dozen rest days during the season.

While a 15% reduction in games played isn’t going to guarantee James and Davis will remain healthy, the Lakers would be dumb not to make whatever moves they can to smartly reduce their superstars’ minutes and workload. That can be done by giving them a dozen rest games and limiting them to under 30 minutes per game. The NBA’s new Player Participation Policy has now essentially legitimized the need for teams to load manage their stars.

Besides giving LeBron and AD smart opportunities to rest during a long regular season, playing a 12-man rotation should give the Lakers a chance to become a better team and earn a higher seed when the playoffs start.
For the Lakers, that could mean the difference between Cam Reddish and Jackson Hayes getting realistic opportunities to show they could be this season’s low risk, high reward players who rebuilt their brand in L.A.

Bottom line, spreading games and minutes between 12 legitimate rotation players would not only help the Lakers load manage their stars and players but also make them a better and stronger team heading into the playoffs.

The remade Los Angeles Lakers are so deep after signing Christian Wood that it doesn’t matter who starts because they have the depth and diversity to create multiple starting lineups that could win an NBA championship.

That Rob Pelinka was able to put together this roster from the ashes of the Russell Westbrook trade while both getting younger and remaining under the hard cap is nothing short of miraculous and deserving of EOY honors. After passing opportunities to trade Westbrook last offseason, Pelinka parlayed difference-making trade deadline and offseason moves to remake the lottery Lakers into what should be one of the championship favorites.

In a different universe, these Lakers could be a team that alternates two or more different starting lineups to better matchup with and beat specific opponents who play big or small or superstars who need special attention.
Regardless of who the Lakers start, they have so much depth and diversity off the bench that they can easily make quick changes to fix problems or improve matchups. Look for Ham to consistently play 11 or 12 players.

That 11/12-man rotation includes superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis plus five shooters who can score 20 points any game in D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Christian Wood. The Lakers’ greatly increased size, dramatically improved outside shooting, and desperately needed new options on the wing have provided the depth and diversity to create multiple championship caliber starting lineups.

Think how deep an NBA team must be to have the ability to create multiple championship caliber starting lineups. There are probably other Lakers players like Vincent and Hayes who could also have shots at being starters. What we’re likely to see from the Lakers is an evolving starting lineup that enters training camp with Rui Hachimura as the favorite fifth starter but with Cam Reddish and Christian Wood looking to take that spot from him.

With Christian Wood signed, this Lakers’ roster is so deep and talented with so many trustworthy starting lineup options and promising low risk, high reward projects that it does not matter which players end up starting.

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The Three Most Likely Lakers Starting Lineups

Assuming James, Davis, Reaves, and Russell start, the Lakers’ best options for a fifth starter include last year playoffs hero Rui Hachimura, talented 3&D wing Cam Reddish, or just acquired stretch five Christian Wood.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ overriding priority in deciding who will be the team’s fifth starter is to find the player who best fits with and complements the Russell and Reaves backcourt and the James and Davis front court.
Needless to say, the player who is the best fit and best complements the other four starters may not be the fifth best player on the team. Or even the sixth or seventh. The key is who makes the Lakers’ starting lineup best.

While healthy competition at multiple positions will likely determine who ends up being the Lakers fifth starter, the current favorite to win the fifth starting position heading into training camp is probably Rui Hachimura. Rui played extremely well in the playoffs, his career 51.9% from deep in the playoffs being a record despite a career 34.7% from deep for the regular season. Lakers hope Rui can will break out this year as a second tier star.

Should Rui not provide consistent floor spacing and quality wing defense needed from the fifth starter, the Lakers could turn to a young prototype small forward Cam Reddish who has the talent to be a legitimate 3&D wing.
Reddish has no chance to start when the season begins but he could have an opportunity once he earns Ham’s trust because he has the size and skills at both ends to allow James and Davis to continue to play the four and five.

Regardless of how well Hachimura or Reddish play, it’s almost inevitable the Lakers ultimately revert to starting two-bigs lineups with Wood at the five to accommodate Davis’ stated desire to play more four and less five. Once Wood proves he’s bought into the Lakers philosophy and Ham is confident he’s ready, Christian should become the Lakers’ starting center with his ability to shoot the basketball from deep and protect the rim.

Ultimately, Anthony Davis wants to play the four and the Lakers want to play two bigs, which means that Christian Wood should eventually become the Lakers’ fifth starter as opposed to Rui Hachimura or Cam Reddish.

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Why It Doesn’t Matter Who Starts for Lakers

Ultimately, who starts for the Lakers doesn’t really matter because all the team’s viable starting lineups are championship caliber with two superstars and a talented deep and diverse roster that can shoot, pass, and defend.

As long as Davis and James are healthy and playing at their peak, this Lakers roster is too deep and diverse with plug-and-play rotation players who shoot, rebound, pass, defend not to contend for a championship.
It’s not going to make a difference whether it’s Hachimura, Reddish, or Wood who becomes the fifth starter alongside James, Davis, Reaves, and Russell. In fact, there’s a good chance all three could start at some point.

During their championship run in 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineup featured JaVale McGee starting at center to begin the season, Dwight Howard to close out the season, and Anthony Davis during the playoffs.
There’s a possible scenario where the Lakers begin the season with Rui Hachimura as the fifth starter, switch to Cam Reddish midway through the season, and finally go two-bigs with Christian Wood at five in the playoffs.

For a team as deep and diverse as these Lakers, who plays to close out quarters, halves, and games could be more important than who starts the game, provided the starters don’t consistently fall way behind opponents. Especially for the regular season, the Lakers would be wise to take full advantage of their depth and diversity by limiting the time played by both Anthony Davis and LeBron James to less than 30 minutes per game.

Ultimately, how Hachimura, Reddish, and Wood actually play on the court, fill their roles, and fit with the other Lakers starters will determine who ends up being the fifth starter. That’s what camp and preseason are for. Unlike other seasons, the Lakers enter camp with major positional battles both in the back and front courts. With lots of questions that need to be answered, the Lakers floor is the playoffs and ceiling championship.

The Lakers are extremely fortunate that they were able to build a roster so deep and diverse that it allows them to create multiple different starting lineups good enough to compete for and win an NBA championship.

Thanks to great moves at last season’s trade deadline and this offseason, the Lakers now find themselves with the deepest and most talented roster and the most legitimate tradable contracts since signing LeBron James.

That bodes well for the Lakers’ championship hopes for next season and for their chances to pull off a blockbuster move before the trade deadline to upgrade their roster from championship contender to title favorite.
The Lakers find themselves in the enviable position of not having to make a move to compete for a championship but they won’t hesitate to swing for the fences if the right player or players were suddenly to become available.

Everybody knows the Lakers would like to trade for a third superstar to play alongside LeBron and AD, help win a championship this season, and then replace James whenever he decides to retire or leave in free agency. The Lakers still have two open roster spots to fill and are hoping to add enough depth so they’ll still have a strong 10-man rotation even after trading two or three current players for a third star before the deadline.

While Rob Pelinka has done a masterful job rebuilding the team on the court, he’s done an even better job cleaning up and optimizing the Lakers salary cap so he has the trading chips to pursue a third star or superstar. Pelinka has built this roster for a big trade. While Reaves is throwing his hat in the ring to be the team’s third star, the Lakers will be on a mission and know this could be their best chance to get another ring for LeBron.

If the Lakers start strong, stay healthy, and get winning play from their starters and rotation, major trading chips and key wild card projects, they can still have championship caliber depth after trading for a third star.

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What Would Lakers’ Mega Trade Packages Look Like?

Here are three proposed Laker trades for a $40 million star or stars built upon a package of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Top-5 protected 2029 first round pick and 2030 first round pick swap.

There’s a consensus among analysts that the package the Lakers will likely be pushing as they approach the trade deadline will include D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and necessary draft capital. The Lakers’ problem is they won’t trade James, Davis, or Reaves, which means there’s simply no way to match salaries to trade for a pair of stars or a superstar making $40 million without including Russell and Hachimura.

Russell’s $17.3 million, Hachimura’s $15.7 million, and Hood-Schifino’s $3.7M give the the Lakers $36.7 million in valuable tradable salaries, enough to bring back a player or players making $40 million per year. Players whom the Lakers might pursue include Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Pascal Siakam, Kyrie Irving, Kristaps Porzingis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Brandon Ingram, DeMar DeRozan, Myles Turner, and Buddy Hield.

While Russell or Hachimura could play so well the Lakers could decide to keep one or both of them and settle for just minor tweaks or no changes to the roster, the Lakers have positioned themselves for a blockbuster trade. Rob Pelinka sees this as an opportunity not only to reinforce the roster to make a run to win another championship for LeBron but also possibly to make a big move to actually land the player or players to replace James.

The Lakers love the roster they have right now but understand that this season is an opportunity to win their 18th NBA championship as well as a chance to trade for third superstar to eventually replace LeBron James.

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What Would Lakers’ Post-Trade Depth Charts Look Like?

Here is how the projected depth charts for the Lakers would look like after making the three blockbuster trades used above as examples of possible deadline trades by L.A. In each case, Lakers still end up with deep rosters.

Looking at the above depth charts, trading for a superstar like Trae Young or Zach LaVine or a pair of second-tier stars like Myles Turner and Buddy Hield would greatly upgrade the firepower of the Lakers’ starting lineup. 
The Lakers would be trading two starters for two starters from the Pacers and two starters for one starter from the Hawks or Bulls, which then opens up an opportunities to play two bigs or start Cam Reddish at small forward.

What also jumps out from the above depth charts is how important the Lakers’ last two open roster spots could be, especially if they can land an impact player like Christian Woods for just the veteran’s minimum pay. Depth always looks better on paper but often falls prey to reality as players don’t live up to expectations or get injured. Because of so many wild cards, the Lakers ceiling is exceptionally high and their floor exceptionally low.

Because of the rule changes which prevent teams who are over the first tax threshold from signing any buyout candidates, the Lakers are likely to keep their 15th roster spot open for potential star quality buyout candidates. There’s definitely a possibility of an older veteran player getting released and becoming available in time to be eligible to participate in the playoffs. As a team that can sign buyouts, the Lakers will keep their 15th spot open.

The Lakers need to stay healthy and hope questions about almost every player on the roster get answered positively but a midseason trade for a superstar or pair of stars to this team could lead to their winning #18.

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How Hayes And Reddish ‘Wild Cards’ Could Be Key to Trade

The Lakers’ odds of still having championship quality bench depth after trading multiple players for a third superstar or pair of second-tier stars could depend on how wild cards Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish play.

The Lakers hope signing Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish, the #8 and #10 picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, will yield the same lightning-in-a-bottle they got for trading for Rui Hachimura, the #9 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. 
Until Hachimura broke out and finished the regular season strong and excelled in the playoffs for the Lakers, all three of the Top-10 2019 draftees were considered to be players who had underperformed their draft status.

But right now, Hayes, Reddish, and Hachimura are have realistic options to start for the Lakers: Hayes at the five with Davis in a two-bigs lineup or Reddish or Hachimura at the three with James and Davis and four and five. How the three perform in training camp and preseason could very well determine who starts for the Lakers. In a perfect world, Hachimura will continue to excel as a Laker while Hayes and Reddish have breakout years.

The NBA has always been a star and superstar driven league and the Lakers roster has four players who were top-10 first round picks in LeBron James (#1), Anthony Davis (#1), D’Angelo Russell (#2), and Rui Hachimura (#9). 
The four players the Lakers were targeting via midseason trades were Trae Young (#5), Zach LaVine (#13), Myles Turner (#11), and Buddy Hield (#6), which would give the Lakers five or six players who were top-13 picks.

The Lakers need all three of their 2019 Top-10 draft picks to have career seasons so they can pull off a mega midseason trade for a third star or superstar and still have championship caliber depth left after the trade.

Sometimes young stars are given nicknames so perfect they stick and the player and nickname become synonymous: Earvin Johnson and Magic, Kobe Bryant and the Black Mamba, Austin Reaves and the White Mamba.

Watching Austin Reaves taking over play every time he entered the game for Team USA reminded me of Kobe diving for a loose ball and setting the tone in the first game of the 2007 FIBA qualifying tournament in Las Vegas. That led to my epiphany that Austin Reaves deserves the White Mamba nickname because he’s the NBA player who best represents Kobe Bryant’s intense passion, obsession, relentlessness, resilience, and fearlessness.

Those are the five pillars supporting Mamba Mentality, which is Bryant’s personal philosophy on becoming the best version of oneself. Mamba Mentality is a basketball bible to players like Austin who idolized Kobe. Putting the principles of Mamba Mentality to work is obviously easier said than done, especially when you’re an unknown, undrafted, older white player who played four years and sat out one year of college basketball.

Austin Reaves’ entire approach to the game of basketball has been the result of his embracing of Mamba Mentality. You can see Kobe in the passion with which Austin plays and celebrates his team’s great plays. Reaves’ obsession to grow reminds one of Bryant’s push to get better. His relentlessness and fearlessness in attacking the paint as well as his dogged resilience when the road gets tougher just scream White Mamba!

That’s why Austin Reaves’ accomplishments in the first two years of his professional basketball career show why he deserves the honor of being called the White Mamba. He was inspired by Kobe to play like Kobe.

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Why Austin Reaves is White Mamba

Austin Reaves dodged specifically answering when asked by reporters what he meant when he screamed “I’M HIM!” after his Game 1 playoff heroics against the Grizzlies but those who know him know he meant Kobe Bryant.

Reaves grew up in a small Arkansas town as a diehard Kobe Bryant fan. Through his young career, Austin has had numerous nicknames, including Hillbilly Kobe and AR-15, neither of which truly reflected Reaves’ game. White Mamba, on the other hand, is the one nickname that truly captures what Austin Reaves’ game is all about and why he is the best model for a player who lives and believes in Mamba Mentality in the NBA today.

Casual Lakers and NBA fans still view Austin Reaves through their Alex Caruso white-player lenses. While there are some obvious similarities, Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso are two entirely different types of players. While both are smart, competitive, and team oriented players, Caruso is a defense first, pass first player who’s near his ceiling whereas Reaves is an offense first, shoot first player who’s ceiling is All-Star or even beyond.

While Austin Reaves doesn’t have the uber athleticism of a young Kobe Bryant, he plays with the same passion, obsessiveness, relentlessness, resilience, and fearlessness that made Kobe Bryant the Black Mamba.
What Reaves does have is an old school basketball intelligence fueled by Mamba Mentality intensity and versatility that lets him fit seamlessly into any lineup or role, on or off the ball, as a scorer, playmaker, or defender.

It’s near impossible to watch Austin Reaves play without experiencing an epiphany that he’s the one player in today’s NBA whom Kobe Bryant would be most proud of and honored to award the nickname of White Mamba.

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Scalabrine’s Claim to White Mamba

No disrespect to Brian Scalabrine, but NBA players don’t give themselves nicknames. They earn them from admirers by their performances on the court. Brian Scalabrine is not Kobe Bryant, nor is he the White Mamba.

The White Mamba is a nickname that must be earned on the court by a player displaying the traits that made Kobe Bryant such a unique and beloved superstar. It’s not a nickname to be assumed by a role player.
What makes giving himself the White Mamba name so insulting is, other than being white, Scalabrine never achieve anything more than being a solid role player in his career. As Scal himself says, it was all just a joke.

“The story behind it is, you know Kobe had the shoes. You remember the commercial where jumped over the car, and him and Ronnie Turiaf, right. So, I loved those shoes, I wore his shoes all the time anyways. You have Nike ID, you could make those online so I made one, they had the snake skin. I made it white, I put red bottoms on’em. And then I slapped them down on the table in front of Stacy King, and I said White Mamba 1.0’s.”

Frankly, Hillbilly Kobe and AR-15 were embarrassing nicknames for a player who’s future looks unlimited right now. As fans get to know more about young Austin Reaves, his love and connection to Kobe Bryant will emerge. More and more, I expect Lakers fans to have the same epiphany I did and start calling Austin Reaves by the nickname he deserves. Nobody in the league better deserves to be called the White Mamba than Austin Reaves.

It’s time for Brian Scalabrine to renounce the White Mamba nickname he kiddingly gave himself so Austin Reaves will be able to embrace the honor of assuming the White Mamba nickname for playing the game like Kobe.

Austin Reaves is such a hot NBA story right now that you have to forgive drunk and delirious Lakers fans speculating whether ‘Hillbilly Kobe’ could develop into the elusive third superstar L.A. needs for a new Big Three.

What Austin Reaves has done in just two seasons going from an undrafted rookie to clearly the third best player on the Lakers’ roster and arguably the third best player on the star-studded Team USA roster has been amazing. Unfortunately, as great as 25-year old Austin Reaves is, there’s not enough time left for him to develop into the Lakers’ third superstar before 38-year old LeBron James decides to hang up his sneakers and finally retire.

The other issues with Austin Reaves is he’s already 25-years old, having spent four full years playing college basketball, and does not boast the elite physical body and ultra athleticism that sets apart superstar prospects. What Reaves does possess though that gives him possible All-Star and Superstar upside is a LeBron James level of BBIQ, a lethal 50/40/90% sweet shooting stroke, and a Kobe Bryant ‘Mamba-like’ drive to become great.

The big question is what is Austin Reaves NBA ceiling. We already know he can be a big-time contributor but let’s examine the pro and con cases for Austin as an Elite Starter, an All-Star, or eventually even a Superstar.

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Austin Reaves, Elite Starter

Austin Reaves will embark on his third season in purple and gold already firmly entrenched as an Elite Starter and the team’s third best player, with a brand new 4-year $54 million contract and hopefully a FIBA gold medal.

Credit for the Lakers’ strong finish last season is generally attributed to Pelinka’s trade deadline moves but Reaves taking advantage of Westbrook’s touches and minutes to elevate his game to a new level was just as critical. In retrospect, Austin Reaves replacing Russell Westbrook was the catalyst that fueled the New Look Lakers to make it to the Play-In Tournament and eventually to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to Denver.

The next step in Austin Reaves evolution is for the Lakers to give him the ball and let him play more point guard, a role he excelled at during the team’s strong finish to the regular season and their success in the playoffs. While Reaves and Russell were a solid starting backcourt for the Lakers late last season and through most of the playoffs, the team’s interest in having Austin play more point guard could portend a midseason D’Angelo trade.

Bottom line, Austin Reaves finished last season averaging 13.0/3.0/3.4 in 28.8 minutes per game while shooting 52.9%/39.8%/86.4%. Before the trade deadline, he averaged 10.7/3.1/2.2 while shooting 49.1%/36.9%/88.9%. During the playoffs, Reaves raised his game to that of an Elite Starter, averaging 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists in 36.2 minutes per game shooting 46.4% from field, 44.3% from deep, and 89.5% from the line.

Austin Reaves has already proven he has the ability to be an Elite Starter in the NBA. Now he just needs to perform at that level for a couple of seasons. We’ll have a better idea of how high his ceiling really is after this season.

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Austin Reaves, All-Star

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham expects Austin Reaves to compete for a spot on the West All-Star team. After a sensational playoffs, Reaves is poised to enjoy a breakout regular season that could earn him an All-Star selection.

After averaging 16.9/4.4/4.6 in 36.2 minutes per game in the playoffs, the Lakers plan to give Reaves even more touches at point guard to take better advantage of his playmaking skills and fit with superstars James and Davis. Assuming he will probably play the third most minutes on the Lakers, Austin could have an opportunity to average 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game, which would make him a legitimate All-Star candidate.

The recognition Reaves is receiving right now for his terrific play in the FIBA exhibition games as well as his role as a Lakers’ fan favorite will both help him immensely when it comes to making the West All-Star team. While the competition to be one of the guards on the West’s All-Star team is extreme, Reaves has an chance with a 20/5/5 season with 50%/40%/90% shooting and help from Lakers fans to earn a surprise West All-Star spot.

Last year’s West starting guards were Doncic (32.0/8.0/8.6) and Morant (26.2/8.1/5.9) with Gilgeous-Alexander (31.4/5.5/4.8), Lillard (32.2/7.3/4.8), Edwards (24.6/4.4/5.8), Curry (29.4/6.3/6.1), Fox (25.0/6.1/4.2) as reserves. While Reaves’ averaging 20.0/5.0/5.0 won’t compare to the numbers of several of the superstar guards who made last season’s West All-Star team, Austin still has a long-shot chance of being an All-Star because of fans.

Austin Reaves is probably a season or two and a championship away from averaging 25.0/8.0/8.0 and being selected for an All-Star game appearance. It’s just a matter of time and experience before AR becomes an All-Star.

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Austin Reaves, Superstar

As the third best player on the Lakers and arguably third best player on Team USA, Austin Reaves has delirious Lakers fans pondering if Hillbilly Kobe could become the team’s third superstar next to LeBron and AD.

Frankly, since the coming season could theoretically be LeBron James final season in purple and gold, Austin Reaves will simply not have enough time to develop into a superstar and form a Big Three with James and Davis.
The better question is does Reaves have the upside to make the jump from NBA All-Star to superstar. While going from elite starter to All-Star is like high school to college, the jump to Superstar is like college to the pros.

The hype surrounding Austin Reaves has been out of this world and much of it because Reaves looks more like the average NBA fan than NBA player. In many ways, Austin is his generation’s Larry Bird, the great white hope. Reaves doesn’t have out-of-the-world talent and athleticism, can’t jump out of the gym, and wasn’t even drafted two years ago after playing four years of college basketball. What he does have is a sweet stroke and great BBIQ.

While Reaves won’t have time to grow into a superstar before LeBron is going, the Lakers are hoping Austin’s ability to score and create plays at all three levels will enable him to become Anthony Davis’ superstar partner. The Lakers also plan to experiment more with Austin Reaves playing point guard, which would enable them to trade D’Angelo Russell before the trade deadline without having to bring back a starting point guard in return.

Does Austin Reaves have a chance to develop into a legitimate Superstar? The odds are slim and none considering his raw talent but if he can shoot like Bird, think like LeBron, and compete like Kobe, anything’s possible.