Lakers News: Rob Pelinka Compares Austin Reaves' Ceiling to NBA All-Star's Rise

Is he on to something?

Apr 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) moves the ball against Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) during the second half in game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Is Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Austin Reaves due for a massive performative improvement this year?

During a new interview with Steve Mason, Ramona Shelburne and Jorge Sedano on ESPN LA's "Mason & Ireland," Pelinka indicated that he was confident Reaves was on an All-Star trajectory.

"Seeing Austin in some of these scrimmages, like his confidence with the ball, is something that has really stood out and I’m excited for our fans to see that," Pelinka said. "You look at evolutions of players, and I don’t compare players around the league, but you look at like a great player like a Jalen Brunson and the jump he had from his Dallas days to New York. Is there that delta? I’m not trying to put expectations like that on Austin Reaves, but you can see players develop in big ways throughout their career, and I’m gonna put my tokens down on Austin Reaves to do that just because of the work he puts in and just his fabric and nature. He’s an incredibly tough person and an incredible competitor and those things tend to elevate guys throughout their career.”

Brunson was selected with the No. 33 pick out of Villanova by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2018 NBA Draft, and quickly evolved into the club's second-best player by the team he and All-Star guard Luka Doncic led Dallas to the 2022 Western Conference Finals. When he ditched Dallas in favor of a more ball-dominant role with the New York Knicks that summer, Brunson took yet another leap. The 6-foot-2 point guard was eventually named to the 2024 All-NBA Second Team and his first All-Star team.

Reaves went undrafted in 2021 out of Oklahoma, and by the end of his second season had evolved into Los Angeles' third-best player behind All-Stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James, a slick, multi-level offensive standout who stepped up during L.A.'s run to the 2023 West Finals. But he has yet to take an All-Star leap, let alone an All-NBA one. Pelinka, for one, is confident the 6-foot-5 swingman could improve defensively under the watchful tutelage of new head coach JJ Redick.

“I think there has also been a challenge. JJ is very direct, you guys covered him as a player. He doesn’t pull punches. He has been very direct with Austin, in particular, like ‘I need you to be a great defender.’ We saw early on in Austin’s career, he would find ways to get in front of guys to take charges, which is one of the best defensive players you can have. It’s a foul on the other team, gets you in the bonus, can potentially take a star player out of the game. He was elite at that, so I think Austin wants to take on that challenge of becoming better on the defensive end.”

More Lakers: Los Angeles Hall of Famer Reveals He Tried To Join West Rival 'Many Times'