This Veteran Former Lakers Star Was One Of Austin Reaves' Favorite Teammates

It's a bit of a surprise.

Although Russell Westbrook's relationship with All-Star small forward LeBron James may have been on life support by the time he was dealt to the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline, it appears that another Los Angeles Lakers player who directly benefitted from his absence still missed him greatly once he was gone. 

It's too bad that didn't translate readily to on-court chemistry, but c'est la vie.

During a wide-ranging new conversation with Stephen Jackson and ex-Laker Matt Barnes on their Showtime podcast All The Smoke, starting shooting guard Austin Reaves explained why he'll miss Brodie.

“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Reaves gushed. “As a person, you can’t get much better… He was always empowering everybody to be better and do better and want more.”

It's nice to hear that Westbrook, who had been with the Lakers since Reaves' rookie season in 2021-22 before being traded, had a positive impact on the rising young shooting guard. Ironically, Westbrook's absence helped balance out the club's backcourt, allowing Reaves to play a bigger role in the LA offense immediately. He eventually took over as the team's starter at the two.

Upon being flipped to the Jazz as part of the three-team deal that landed D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley in Los Angeles, Westbrook negotiated a buyout with Utah. The Long Beach native and UCLA alum then signed a rest-of-season deal with his other hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers. He subsequently inked a two-year, $7.9 million contract to return to the club this summer as a free agent.

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