![\"Austin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2120386661-e1757075086885.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto by Stacy Revere\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers<\/p>\n
Since the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Marcus Smart earlier this summer, questions have begun to circle regarding Austin Reaves\u2019 spot in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n
Smart\u2019s defensive upside makes him a logical addition in JJ Redick\u2019s starting rotation. His presence would ease concerns over Luka Doncic\u2019s defensive shortcomings and LeBron James\u2019 age-related \u201cselective defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
The problem is, inserting Smart into the starting lineup likely means demoting (potential) impending free agent Austin Reaves. The 27-year-old has a player option for the 2026-27 season, but is likely to opt out and sign an improved deal.<\/p>\n
Reaves shone as a member of the Lakers\u2019 starting unit last season. In 73 games, all of which he started, Reaves averaged 20.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds. He shot 54.7% from 2-point range and 37.7% from deep.<\/p>\n
According to Jovan Buha, moving Reaves to the bench could push him toward exploring his options in free agency next summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Los Angeles Lakers want to keep Austin, I don\u2019t see how you can sell him on a bench role,\u201d Buha said via his \u201cBuha\u2019s Block\u201d podcast. \u201c\u2026 If they\u2019re moving Austin to the bench, that is shifting things toward him potentially being elsewhere next summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lakers\u2019 Lineup Decision Could Determine Reaves\u2019 Future<\/p>\n
Analyst Believes Smart Should Come Off The Bench<\/p>\n
Mike Breshahan of the \u201cLakeshow podcast\u201d<\/a>\u00a0doesn\u2019t believe Smart should instantly be given a starting role within the Lakers\u2019 rotation.<\/p>\n \u201cIs he in that starting five?\u201d Breshahan asked. \u201cI don\u2019t think so. He played okay with Washington towards the end of his brief run with them last season. I got to see him play some games. He just hasn\u2019t played a full season.\u201d<\/p>\n When factoring in how moving Smart into the starting unit could impact Reaves, the argument for keeping him with the second unit gathers steam. Smart could still spend significant time next to James and Doncic, though, assuming Redick is creative with his substitution patterns and rotations.<\/p>\n Reaves Is Important to the Lakers<\/p>\n Keeping Reaves around long-term will likely be among the Lakers\u2019 primary goals heading into next summer. He\u2019s gone from strength to strength since joining the franchise as an undrafted rookie in 2021. Furthermore, he\u2019s a genuine fan-favorite who has proven himself at every level.<\/p>\n Smart is a short-term addition to the Lakers\u2019 roster. His addition is to provide some defensive balance to a Lakers roster that ranked 17th in the NBA for defensive rating<\/a> last season. He doesn\u2019t need to be a starter to make that impact.<\/p>\n Still, the most logical outcome is that both Smart and Reaves share starting responsibilities depending on the matchup. That way, both players will be put in the best position to succeed, both as individuals and as part of the team.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, if Reaves\u2019 future with the franchise is contingent on a starting role, then it\u2019s hard to envision him being dropped in favor of Smart. After all, Rob Pelinka is building for now, and for the future, and Reaves projects to be a core part of both timelines.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAdam Taylor<\/a> is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns for Heavy. He has also written for CelticsBlog, USA Today, Yardbarker and FanSided. Adam has a bachelor\u2019s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Stacy Revere\/Getty Images Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers Since the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Marcus Smart…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-121485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}