{"id":540153,"date":"2026-07-14T01:21:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/540153\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T01:21:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:21:06","slug":"life-after-lebron-austin-reaves-embracing-new-look-lakers-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/540153\/","title":{"rendered":"Life after LeBron: Austin Reaves embracing new-look Lakers roster"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LAS VEGAS\u00a0\u2014\u00a0From the time Austin Reaves<\/a> joined the Lakers<\/a> in 2021 as an undrafted prospect, his basketball life centered around playing with a savant in LeBron James<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That no longer will be the case.<\/p>\n

Reaves re-signed with the Lakers<\/a> on a four-year, $180-million deal, but James decided to move on<\/a> as he prepares to play an unprecedented 24th season.<\/p>\n

Reaves was stunned when he heard about James\u2019 decision while playing golf in Lake Tahoe. Nearly two weeks later, Reaves says he still is trying to process the development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of was thinking about it last night when I got here,\u201d Reaves said Monday in his first news conference since re-signing. \u201cStarting the season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. He\u2019s kind of all I\u2019ve ever known. Just him being around, joking around, acting like he\u2019s 15. But that\u2019s his decision and like I said in Tahoe, anytime I\u2019ve talked about it, I got nothing but love and respect for him and yeah, let\u2019s play some golf soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contract Reaves signed was the richest in NBA history for an undrafted player. At 28 and entering his sixth season, Reaves wanted to stay in L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be a Laker the whole time. We had that period from when the season ended until the first [of July] to get something done and we figured it out before then,\u201d he said. \u201cMy heart was in L.A. the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reaves will become one of the de facto leaders of the Lakers along with Luka Doncic<\/a>. The two once again will be one of the most dynamic backcourts in the NBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously my relationship with the guys that were on the team last year,\u201d Reaves said of why he wanted to stay. \u201cAnd then Luka. I mean, he\u2019s one of my best friends on this planet. Talk to him almost every single day. He sends me videos of his golf swing and asks me what he can do to get better and I tell him I\u2019m not a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers have overhauled the roster: All the players who started alongside Reaves in the playoffs last spring are gone. With the signing of former Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams<\/a> on Monday, the Lakers have eight new players, all of them arriving either via trades, free agency or the draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re good,\u201d Reaves said of the moves. \u201cObviously, I\u2019ve been with the guys that are leaving for a couple years and with Bron for five years and I hate to see guys like that go. But the pieces that are coming in, I\u2019m very excited about and I\u2019m happy to get started today and see where it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Walker <\/p>\n

Walker Kessler dunks during a game between the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers on March 23.<\/p>\n

(Rob Gray \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

One of those new players is Walker Kessler<\/a>, a 7-foot-2 center the Lakers felt fit best around Doncic and Reaves because he\u2019s a lob threat, rim-protector and good defender and is developing his three-point shooting.<\/p>\n

The Lakers got him from the Utah Jazz in a trade and then signed him to a four-year, $130-million contract. The Lakers sent out two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033) and two first-round pick swaps (2028, 2030).<\/p>\n

Kessler, who played only five games last season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, is aware the Lakers paid a big price to get him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely makes you feel a certain way when you know an organization believes in you,\u201d Kessler said Monday in his introduction. \u201cAnd I think what they\u2019ve invested, they\u2019re showing that belief in a monetary value, not just with money, but like you said, assets. And for me, I\u2019m somebody that if I know that they have that belief in me, I\u2019m gonna run through a brick wall for them. That\u2019s just how I\u2019ve been wired my whole life and it definitely makes it a lot easier to go out there and compete for a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili could become a fan favorite, in part because of the tattoo he has on his lower left leg \u2014 a No. 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant.<\/p>\n

Mamukelashvili, who signed a four-year, $52-million deal, averaged 11.2 points last season with the Toronto Raptors and shot 52.3% from the field, including 38.9% from three-point range.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a Mamba Mentality tattoo. I just love his mindset,\u201d Mamukelashvili said. \u201cGrowing up, I used to always say, \u201cMah-moo Mentality!\u2019 So, I know it\u2019s a little far from each other. But we are getting closer.\u201d<\/p>\n

When guard Collin Sexton, another new Laker, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, James left and signed with the Lakers. When Sexton signed a two-year, $19-million deal with the Lakers this month, James left again.<\/p>\n

Sexton could only laugh about missing out on playing with James.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just leaving every time I arrive,\u201d Sexton said, laughing. \u201cThat\u2019s what it is. No, but one of the other coaches made the same joke yesterday. It\u2019s cool, I know. I\u2019ve always wanted to team up with him for sure, but it\u2019s definitely cool knowing him and just having normal conversations and stuff, so that\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sexton averaged 15.4 points and shot 48.5% last season with Chicago and Charlotte. He\u2019s ready for whatever role coach JJ Redick and the Lakers want for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey believe in me,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I just feel like at the end of the day, whenever a coach believes in you and like he said, he\u2019s going to be hard on me and yelling and screaming at me. So, I like that. I think that\u2019s what gets the best from me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS\u00a0\u2014\u00a0From the time Austin Reaves joined the Lakers in 2021 as an undrafted prospect, his basketball life…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-540153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540153","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=540153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}