Lakers' Austin Reaves Impressing New Teammate In Offseason Workouts

As well he should be.

Apr 29, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) passes the ball as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) defend in the third quarter during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Quincy Olivari has his work cut out for him to make a meaningful impact on the 2024-25 Los Angeles Lakers.

The former Xavier Musketeers guard is inked to an Exhibit 10 training camp contract. In some scenarios, this could clear a path for him to earn a two-way roster spot or even, possibly, a 15-man standard roster spot (via the two-way deal being converted to a standard deal). But with the Lakers, it'll be an uphill battle. That's because all 15 of the club's standard roster spots are occupied with guaranteed contracts, and all three of the Lakers' two-way slots are also filled.

The 6-foot-3 guard, a two-time All-CUSA honoree while at Rice, transferred to Xavier for his final season of NCAA eligibility in 2023-24. He averaged 19.1 points on .425/.409/.814 shooting splits, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.4 steals a night across 34 games, all starts.

In addition to Olivari, center Kylor Kelley and guard Jordan Goodwin are also on Exhibit 10 deals with L.A. heading into training camp. Sean East was reported to have signed an Exhibit 10 agreement, too, but his signing hasn't officially been confirmed yet.

During an interview with Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, Olivari spoke glowingly about one of his new teammates in particular.

“My first day, I would say for the first time we did fives [five-on-five workouts] where it was kind of more controlled," Olivari said. "Austin Reaves is really, really good at basketball,” Olivari said. “It’s just different when you’re out there, how smart he is, how he can just bait you into certain things, certain passes he makes, him in the pick-and-roll. I was like ‘Dawg, I can’t wait to learn from him.’ I mean, everybody is out there doing well, but I remember I was just like yeah, Austin Reaves, he’s really good.”

Reaves, 26, enjoyed a breakout 2022-23 season after going undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2021. The 6-foot-5 swingman, having firmly established himself for Darvin Ham and inked a below-market value four-year, $53.8 million deal in free agency heading into the 2023-24 season, continued to grow last year. He averaged 15.9 points on .486/.367/.853 shooting splits, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 0.8 steals a night, while playing all 82 regular season games as the third-best player on a 47-35 Los Angeles squad.

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