![\"Austin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2248467415_478932-e1766848580451.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts for a LA Clippers foul during the first half at Crypto.com Arena on November 25, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. <\/p>\n
Over the past week, attention around the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> has centered on guard Austin Reaves<\/a> and his long-awaited return from a calf injury that has sidelined him since late December.<\/p>\n Recent reports<\/a> and comments from head coach JJ Redick<\/a> have fueled optimism that Reaves is close, though the team has continued to exercise patience.<\/p>\n The injury was officially announced on January 2 with a four-week re-evaluation timeline, leaving some uncertainty around when he would be ready to return.<\/p>\n Lakers Eye Possible Return During Road Trip<\/p>\n The Lakers are currently in the middle of an eight-game road trip, with just three games remaining, ending February 3 against the Brooklyn Nets<\/a>.<\/p>\n While there has been hope internally that Reaves could return during this stretch, he remained out on the injury report ahead of Wednesday\u2019s 129-99 blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>.<\/p>\n ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin<\/a> has provided further insight into where things stand.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lakers are still hopeful they will get Reaves back in the lineup at some point on this road trip,\u201d McMenamin said. \u201cThere\u2019s still three more games after the Cleveland game. They go to D.C. to play the Wizards<\/a>, then they go to New York for a pair of games against the Knicks<\/a> and the Nets.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAustin\u2019s been ramping up behind the scenes, playing in what they call \u2018stay ready\u2019 games, basically five-on-five with some of the bench players and some of the coaches, and so far there have been no setbacks whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n While the signs remain encouraging, McMenamin also noted that the initial four-week check-in was never a firm return date.<\/p>\n A four-to-six-week absence was always more realistic, particularly for a calf injury that requires confidence and explosiveness to fully return.<\/p>\n Reaves\u2019 Importance Makes Patience Essential<\/p>\n Before going down, Reaves was in the midst of a career-high stretch, averaging 27.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.0 steal through 22 games.<\/p>\n He was shooting 50.4% from the field and 36.4% from three, emerging as a genuine offensive pillar alongside Luka Doncic<\/a> and LeBron James<\/a>, and arguably playing at an All-Star-caliber level.<\/p>\n Given that importance, the Lakers are in no rush to push him back prematurely, even amid inconsistent form and with the February 5 trade deadline approaching as the front office reportedly<\/a> explores wing and center upgrades.<\/p>\n Los Angeles views Reaves as a core piece rather than a short-term fix, making long-term health the clear priority.<\/p>\n \u201cBut they want to make sure he\u2019s completely comfortable by the time he goes into the lineup,\u201d McMenamin added. \u201cSo it\u2019s not like a stop-and-start type of situation, where he plays a game or two then needs to rest because that calf isn\u2019t feeling fully right just yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Reaves is in the third season of a four-year, $53.8 million contract<\/a> that includes a $14.8 million player option for the 2026-27 season. Given his surge in production and growing leaguewide reputation, that figure is widely viewed as below market value.<\/p>\n As a result, an opt-out looms as a realistic possibility, one that would see Reaves enter unrestricted free agency with several suitors, placing his long-term future with the Lakers in question.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s loss dropped the Lakers to 28-18 on the season, keeping them fifth in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n They remain 3.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> in second, while the margin continues to tighten with the Phoenix Suns<\/a> sitting just half a game back in seventh as the play-in picture edges closer.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMatt Evans<\/a> is a sports journalist from the United Kingdom, based in Paris, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA and wider global sport. More about Matt Evans<\/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":"Getty Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts for a LA Clippers foul during the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-263585","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}