Austin Reaves was spectacular for the Los Angeles Lakers in their Christmas Day win over the Golden State Warriors. He posted a triple-double — 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists — and had the hero moment for L.A. when he scored off the dribble in the final seconds to give them the win.
Reaves has had many great performances for the Lakers over his first three years, but this one shines in a unique way given the situation. He helped take over a primetime game with Anthony Davis out due to injury, and scored in the most clutch of situations when LeBron James was being denied away from the ball.
This performance was also in the face of some relentless trade rumors. The Lakers have been the subject of intense trade rumors for a long while now, and it has always affected the non-LeBron and Davis players on the roster. So Reaves’ agent — Aaron Reilly of AMR Agency — took to social media to bash fans for wanting Reaves to be traded in favor of another “star” player:
Now people can see why he’s valuable. He’s the third option and makes sure everyone is happy on the court but can takeover when needed.
If he had this usage every game, this is the norm. But he plays within his role. Everyone dying for him to be traded for ball dominant… https://t.co/TPUCnGIH8g
— Aaron Reilly (@AMRAgency) December 26, 2024
The trade that Reilly specifically seems to be referring to in this post is the one surrounding Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls. L.A. has been linked to LaVine for years now, but it seems that the Bulls and Lakers are at an impasse over Reaves. Chicago doesn’t appear to have a deal it likes from the Lakers without him and the L.A. is not likely to include him.
But still, that hasn’t stopped some fans from demanding LaVine’s arrival in L.A., as he is still an elite scorer despite a big contract and some injury history.
But it does seem that the Lakers are on Reilly’s side in that what Reaves brings to the Lakers is too important to deal him for someone like LaVine. If the Lakers were going to trade Reaves, which remains unlikely, it would have to be for a true championship-level upgrade.
Austin Reaves got emotional after Christmas Day win
After the Christmas Day game, all the focus was on Austin Reaves, who has truly begun to establish himself as a legitimate starter-level player in the NBA.
And in his postgame interview, Reaves spoke about the moments directly following the win, saying that it was a rare wave of emotion for him given the context of the situation.
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