Plaschke: Lakers' Austin Reaves got paid, now he needs to earn it

5 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred He’s no longer a quintessential underdog routinely pardoned for his bad defense, his questionable durability and his tendency to tighten up in the playoffs. Austin Reaves, the most beloved Laker, became the most scrutinized Laker on Wednesday with the news that he agreed to a maximum four-year, $185-million contract to remain with the team. Kudos to him for becoming the highest-paid undrafted player in league history. He’ll sign the richest contract in NBA history for an undrafted free agent when he inks the $185-million contract. Props to him for declining a rich extension offer last summer to play out the season and bet on himself. Congrats to the Lakers for turning a homegrown talent into a budding superstar. Seriously, it makes you just want to hug that unkempt, headband-wearing dude and let him know how his everyman story resonates with the masses. Except that story is finished. That book has been closed. A new volume has begun. It’s called, “Is Austin Reaves Worth It?” Flash back to May, the opener of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a week after he had returned to the court following a monthlong absence with an oblique injury. Lakers guard Austin Reaves chases after a loose ball ahead of Rockets guard Amen Thompson during Game 5 of their playoff series in May. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) The Lakers needed Reaves to set the tone. He instead laid an egg, shooting three for 16 from the field and zero for five from beyond the arc, his body knocked clear to Tulsa by a physical Thunder defense. Two games later, same thing, he shoots five for 13 and one for five from deep, allowing the Thunder to pound him to a pulp. With Luka Doncic out and LeBron James exhausted, the Lakers desperately needed Reaves to pick up the slack. He dropped it, again and again, and the Lakers were swept. It was the same thing in the spring of 2025, when Reaves crumbled in the first-round series-clinching loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, shooting five for 14 and two for 10 in a performance that was, as usual, generally overlooked because he tried so hard and accepted his shortcomings so honestly. That’s not going to work anymore. That’s not going to be enough anymore. With this new deal, Reaves becomes the Lakers’ second cornerstone along with Doncic. They are now officially a one-two punch. They are now a twin-engine scoring machine that can rival any similar duo in the NBA. Guards Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic are the new one-two punch of the near future for the Lakers. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Doncic has lived up to his end of the bargain. Will Reaves? And what about defense? For $185 million, you’d think you could get some defense. Doncic needs his running mate to compensate for his questionable defensive skills, and Reaves has yet to do that. Simply by earning his way onto the Lakers roster five years ago, Reaves has been a great role model for everyone who has ever been ignored or shunned or marginalized. But did the Lakers fall in love with his legend and ignore his frailties? Yes, he averaged 23 points per game last season. But he only played in a career-low 51 games because of calf and oblique injuries, and will he add the muscle required to fend off such problems in the future? Yes, he has been a great interview while admirably and publicly holding himself and his teammates accountable. But he’s always been able to lead from the shadows. How will he react when 185 million microphones are pointed at him? In a postgame interview after the Lakers’ final loss against Oklahoma City this spring, Reaves was at his aw-shucks best. “I take life day by day and I’m just blessed to have an opportunity to play for this organization, play a kid’s game,” he said, “I make good money. But like I said, I don’t think about what I’m really going to do in the future, just day by day.” Lakers guard Austin Reaves consults with coach JJ Redick during a break in the action during Game 3 of the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in May. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) That tone has to change. He now has to think about the future because he is the future, of this team, of this organization, of the hopes of this city. With all of Reaves’ shortcomings, one can almost see the unsentimental Dodgers officials looking at Wednesday’s news and saying, “Wait, they did what?” But in the end, the Lakers didn’t really have a choice. There wasn’t a free agent available who could match Reaves’ prolific shooting, and nobody who could match the Laker-centric story of his personal journey. Renowned softie Rob Pelinka, who should count Reaves as one

Plaschke: Lakers' Austin Reaves got paid, now he needs to earn it

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Plaschke: Lakers' Austin Reaves got paid, now he needs to earn it

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