Lakers' Austin Reaves Will Keep Starting Job When LeBron James Returns From Injury

Austin Reaves has earned his keep.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham told reporters on Sunday that Reaves would remain the starting 2-guard once LeBron James returns from injury, and that the team would move to a different starting lineup than the previous one they employed when James was healthy.

In 14 starts this season, Reaves has averaged 13.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from three.

The Lakers, meanwhile, have gone 8-5 in James' absence, and the strong play of Reaves—who is averaging 17.8 points per game in March—has certainly helped.

It seems likely that the starting lineup will be James, Reaves, Anthony Davis, D'Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt once James returns, with Troy Brown Jr. heading to the bench. That will leave the Lakers with a solid stable of reserves, including Brown, Dennis Schröder, Malik Beasley, Rui Hachimura, Wenyen Gabriel and Lonnie Walker IV.

Reaves, meanwhile, has gone from being a high-energy reserve option in his rookie year to a pretty important part of a Lakers team that suddenly looks as though it could make some noise in the playoffs with a revamped roster around James and AD.

The 24-year-old obviously will still be a role player once James returns. But his ascension to a starting gig has been fun to watch, and it might not be long before the Lakers are priced out of keeping him long term.

Reaves told Evan Turner on the Point Forward podcast that he'll be looking for a nice payday on his next contract (h/t Donny McHenry of Silver Screen and Roll):

"I would like to be here, it's the NBA though, it's a business at the end of the day. And unfortunately for me I wasn't talented enough to come in the league at 18, 19 years old, so I'm a couple contracts behind somebody that is a one-and-done. So anybody that says we don't play the game (for money) to me is lying, because I feel like, 'If you wasn't getting paid, you wouldn't be here doing it.' Obviously everybody loves the game, but I want to make as much money as I can and be as successful as I can no matter where it's at."

Reaves will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. His price keeps going up.