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Austin Reaves did his damnedest. After missing the Los Angeles Lakers’ final five regular-season games and the first four games of the 2026 NBA playoffs with a Grade 2 oblique strain, the sweet-shooting guard logged long hours in a hyperbaric chamber to fast-track the healing process in hopes of getting back on the court as soon as possible. He returned in time to help the Lakers knock off the Houston Rockets without Luka Dončić in Round 1 and averaged nearly 21 points and seven assists per game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, capped by a team-high 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 43 minutes on Monday.
It was a valiant effort, but not enough to prevent the defending champs from finishing off their second straight 4-0 sweep to send the Lakers into an offseason teeming with questions.
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Foremost among them, obviously, is what comes next for LeBron James — whether his Hall of Fame run as a Laker is at an end, whether his entire career is at an end, or whether the 41-year-old will choose to push his unprecedented longevity forward elsewhere. There’s also the question of whether to use the three first-round draft picks they’re now eligible to trade — the 25th pick in June’s 2026 NBA Draft, plus their firsts in 2031 and 2033 — in pursuit of a needle-moving superstar partner for Dončić. (Like, say, a really big Greek guy.)
Not far behind, though, is what comes next for Reaves — whom the Lakers signed to a two-way contract after he went undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2021, and who turned into one of the franchise’s great recent player-development success stories. He’s cemented himself as one of the league’s most efficient, effective and malleable offensive playmakers, capable of producing on or off the ball at a borderline All-Star level.
Asked Monday night what he plans to do next, the fifth-year pro made it clear that he’s not exactly the “planning” type.
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“I’m gonna be honest,” Reaves told reporters after Game 4. “I’ve been around for five years, and I would…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/whats-austin-reaves-market-value-whatever-it-is-hes-likely-worth-plenty-to-the-lakers-185917043.html
Author : Dan Devine
Publish date : 2026-05-12 18:59:00
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