Rob Pelinka Weighs In on Austin Reaves' Future With Lakers

Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) moves to the basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

After an impressive season, the Los Angeles Lakers were surprisingly eliminated in the 2025 NBA Playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games.

Here's to the best fans in the world 💜 pic.twitter.com/wYl498JePJ

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 1, 2025

This was not what fans were expecting after the Lakers had their first 50 win season in five years or after multiple players had an excellent regular season.

This includes shooting guard Austin Reaves, who was an integral part of the Lakers' success before the postseason. In 73 games, he averaged 20.2 points, 5.8 assists, 4.5 total rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game, cementing himself as Los Angeles' No. 3 man.

Unfortunately, this didn't translate as well to the playoffs. In all five games, he only reached the 20 point mark once, averaging 16.2 points, 5.4 total rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 0.2 steals per game.

This has caused fans to question whether he should remain on the team heading into the offseason. Now, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has also gotten in on the conversation.

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According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, Pelinka doesn't just want to keep Reaves on the squad. He views "Hillbilly Kobe" as a pillar of the organization alongside point guard Luka Doncic and forward LeBron James.

Rob Pelinka refers to Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves as “pillars” of the organization.

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) May 1, 2025

The first two players are obvious, with Luka averaging 28.2 points per game with the Lakers this season and LeBron averaging 24.4 points. But if you look at the numbers, Reaves is an obvious number three.

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Joining the Lakers as an undrafted free agent in 2021, Reaves has worked his way up from a two-way contract to a NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate to one of the starting five.

Reaves has also established himself in franchise history, passing Lakers legend Kobe Bryant for the second-most 3-point field goals in a season as a Laker and became the fourth Laker in 20 years to score at least 45 points in a single game. He is the sixth player to ever record a statline of 45 points, seven total rebounds, and seven assists as a Laker.

While this most recent postseason didn't see the best come out of Reaves, he is completely ingrained in Lakers culture. At this point, it would be strange to see him not wearing the purple and gold.

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