Lakers News: Steve Kerr Mum On Whether Austin Reaves Will Start In World Cup

Will LA's starting shooting guard start for Team USA?

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Austin Reaves recently had his first scrimmage as part of Team USA's 12-man roster ahead of the FIBA World Cup later this month. Team USA's first game in elimination play is slated for August 26th against Team New Zealand. The group suited up at following at UNLV's Mendenhall Center on Thursday.

The 6'5" swingman faces some stiff competition when it comes to eking out a starting role among Team USA's perimeter players. Reaves, an excellent playmaker, could be an option at the point. He's also a good defender, and could conceivably play up a position at small forward. All-Stars Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, and Jaylen Brown, would be my predictions for the starting gigs at point guard, shooting guard and small forward, respectively. Combo forward (and ex-Laker) Brandon Ingram could also theoretically play at the three.

Beyond those four, Reaves will be competing against Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and another ex-Laker, Josh Hart, for that starting gig.

Per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr revealed an estimated timeline for when he might make a decision on his first five.

"It tends to shake out over the first week or two," Kerr said. "As a coaching staff, we're watching the tape every day, we're seeing different combinations and then we're thinking about substitution patterns from there. So it tends to play out.

"But it's not easy, because usually you're talking about 12 starters in the NBA," Kerr allowed. "These guys are all starters and great players. Part of the FIBA commitment is none of that stuff matters. There's no contracts on the line. Nobody's getting traded. This is just us for six weeks, and I expect the same thing to happen here is what happened in [2021, for the Olympics] and in [2019, for the World Cup], in terms of the buy-in and the effort and the energy and the intensity, and, we'll see what happens."

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