In keeping with Anthony Irwin of the “Lakers Lounge podcast,” Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham may very well be on a collision course with Austin Reaves. The reported disagreement is because of Ham being decrease on Reaves’ skill than you’d anticipate.
“This attainable factor between [Reaves] and Ham is … one thing. I’m right here to let you know, I’ve heard it very clearly, that for no matter purpose, Ham doesn’t mess with Austin the way in which that you’d assume he would,’ Irwin stated. “It must get fastened. This would possibly escalate all the way in which to the place an agent will get concerned or the entrance workplace will get concerned and other people begin asking what goes into these selections?”
Reaves emerged as a possible third star for the Lakers throughout final season’s NBA Playoffs. His aggression and talent to plug gaps made him the best tertiary man behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Nonetheless, earlier this season, Ham moved Reaves out of the beginning lineup. On the time, Ham shared his imaginative and prescient of Reaves changing into a Manu Ginobili-type performer for the Purple and Gold.
Since transferring to the bench, Reaves has been averaging 13.1 factors, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists, taking pictures 49.3% from the sector and 38.8% from three-point vary.
As such, it might seem Ham’s imaginative and prescient of Reaves changing into a high-level bench contributor is proving to be an affordable hunch. But, issues aren’t at all times what they appear.
Reaves’ minutes have steadily been trending down since D’Angelo Russell was moved to the bench. There’s a further guard for Reaves to take care of, and it might seem his enjoying time is being diminished in consequence.
Contemplating he was probably the most impactful gamers for the Lakers final season and has been performing nicely this yr, the choice to marginalize him is definitely questionable.
It is exhausting to ascertain why Ham would have a difficulty with Reaves. He is accepted his new position and is making a viable influence. Nonetheless, there may very well be strain from different areas of the franchise to offer the fan-favorite a much bigger position, particularly if he has voiced considerations behind the scenes. Ham has struggled to get the very best out of his Lakers crew this season.
Falling out with a core member of the rotation will surely put him in an unenviable scenario. Lakers followers will probably be hoping the scenario would not worsen in order that their crew can proceed constructing towards what they hope is a deep postseason run.