Lakers Officially Fill 14th Roster Spot
Even with James Ennis getting worked out last week, it looks like the Lakers have settled on their 14th roster spot internally.
As training camp is around the corner, the Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Lakers have found their 14th man right before training camp is to start.
After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft, Austin Reaves made his way onto the Lakers Summer League roster. He managed to sign a two-way contract with the team over the summer.
In seven games, between Sacramento and Las Vegas, Reaves averaged a mediocre 7.8 points and 3.9 rebounds during Summer League. He did have a nice game winner against the Phoenix Suns in Las Vegas.
Reaves must have shown the front office some good potential, as he managed to parlay his two-way contract into an official two-year contract. The second year will be a team option.
As Charania notes, the Lakers have shown good potential with player development over the years, so it will be interesting to see if Reaves carves out a bigger future with the squad if he improves.
The former Oklahoma Sooner averaged 18.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists as a senior in college. With the Lakers stacked with talent from top to bottom, Reaves will be used seldomly on the court. He should see time with the affiliate South Bay Lakers squad to get more reps in, and hopefully he will learn a ton from the Laker veterans throughout the season.
