Spurs Regret Not Signing Lakers' Austin Reaves?

The San Antonio Spurs missed an opportunity to sign Austin Reaves, who re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The San Antonio Spurs have their prized possession in Victor Wembanyama, who they secured with the top pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. They then had an opportunity to build a roster around him to help the team compete in his first season. 

One of the Spurs' targets was Austin Reaves, a former undrafted free agent that signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. Reaves bet on himself and passed on being drafted in the second round. This paid off, as Reaves took leaps with the Lakers alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The Spurs, if they had offered Reaves a max contract, could have landed the 6-5 guard. However, they opted to save their cap space for down the road. That decision has been criticized by The Ringer's Bill Simmons.

"San Antonio not maxing Reaves gets dumber every week," Simmons tweeted. "Congrats on saving that cap space for Cedi Osman and Cam Payne.

Playing alongside James and Davis has proven Reaves can play both off the ball and play alongside star talents while remaining productive on the court. This proves he would have been a great talent alongside Wembanyama. The 25-year-old would have also gotten more on-ball reps, allowing for further development. 

Having secured Wembanyama, the Spurs may have their next goal in sight -- making the playoffs. As a rebuilding team, that would be the ideal next step, and having a generational talent slightly accelerates that timeline.

Reaves would benefit the Spurs in postseason play. He's coming off a regular season averaging 13 points per game, shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. He started 22 of his 64 games played.

However, Reaves breakout as a player came in the playoffs. He jumped to 36 minutes per game in 16 games -- all being starts. He shot 44 percent on 3-pointers. He averaged 17 points per game in that span, too. 

Evidently, the player who broke out in the playoffs would be the ideal fit with the Spurs, but they missed that opportunity. Now, he's thriving in a role with Team USA in the FIBA World Cup preliminary games. 

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You can follow Kade Kimble on Twitter @KadeKimble.

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