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Austin Reaves opened up in an interview with The Athletic's Shams Charania about how desperately he wanted to meet the late LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Reaves admitted that he would “have done anything” to meet the beloved Laker.
Improved shooting efficiency and better playmaking are Reaves' biggest goals next season for the Lakers. The 2021 undrafted rookie showed flashes of potential last season and will be looking to play a bigger role moving forward.
Dennis Schroder’s return to Hollywood with the Lakers was three months in the making. In an interview with Basketnews.com, the German point guard said he was in contact with his former team long before eventually signing a contract.
Austin Reaves wanted to badly meet the late Kobe Bryant
Austin Reaves is still somewhat in disbelief that he’s now in the NBA playing for the LA Lakers. As great as it has been, he also wished he could have had more.
In an interview with Shams Charania, Reaves opened up about his career as part of the Lakers and missing out on meeting Kobe Bryant:
“It’s crazy. That was one guy I would do anything to meet. Just the mentality that he had was something that I really loved. It was do whatever you could do to win. That’s what he wanted to do first and foremost, he just wanted to win basketball games.
“I remember I told Aaron, my agent, going into the Lakers workout, it had a different feeling. I’m in the gym that all these guys have been in, worked out. You look up and you see all the championships, you see all the retired numbers. It’s definitely a different feeling so it’s really special.”
Reaves was the epitome of the “Mamba Mentality” last season. There were times when the games were too fast and too physical, but there was no quit in him. He slowly gained the trust of former coach Frank Vogel as well as LeBron James.
Former undrafted rookie looking to contribute more to the LA Lakers with better shooting and playmaking
Austin Reaves was easily the LA Lakers’ feel-good story last season. The former undrafted rookie played well enough to get on the court in 61 games, starting in 19 of them. There were the expected rookie mistakes and there were also questionable plays that helped contribute to the team’s struggles last season.
On the “Please Don’t Aggregate This” podcast, Reaves spoke to Jake Fischer and named his priorities for the next campaign with the LA Lakers:
“I just want to play the game the same way as I did last year. Give it 110% every possession and then on top of that, just shoot the ball better and win more games. I mean winning is the main thing. ... We want to win every game we play. So, anything I can do to help the team win is what I’ll try to do my best.
“I’ve kind of always played point guard position. I’m very realistic like when you play on a team with Bron and AD and Russ. Like you’re not going to have the ball in your hands. But kind of looking to expand in that category a little bit. Being a little bit more of a playmaker alongside those guys, or with the second unit.”
If Reaves plays as LeBron James’ primary backup, then the LA Lakers could certainly make use of whatever improvements he can bring with shooting and playmaking.
Dennis Schroder’s path back to the LA Lakers started three months ago
Dennis Schroder’s incredible display during the recently-concluded EuroBasket tournament seemingly opened the LA Lakers’ eyes. From there, they wasted no time working out the kinks to reunite with the German point guard.
In an interview with Basketnews.com, Schroder spoke about his contract with the Lakers:
“I’ve been talking to the Lakers for the last three months. I knew I was going back, but I wanted to take my time."
The NBA veteran previously mentioned that he had his agent contact all the teams in the league to weigh his options. The due diligence may have been unnecessary after all as Schroder had already admitted he simply wanted to return to Hollywood.
Part of the reason why he wanted to reunite with LeBron James in LA was because of some sort of “unfinished business.”
“LeBron said he was glad he got me back. It’s unfinished business. That year when I was there, there were no fans. There was COVID, everybody was hurt. This year hopefully, everything stays good, everybody stays healthy, and then we’ll try to go for something.”
Next season, Schroder will have more than enough time to conclude both his and James’ unfinished business.
