Lakers' Austin Reaves Being Moved to Bench Role 'Wasn't a Demotion,' Darvin Ham Says

Amid a three-game losing streak going into Friday's game against the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers head coach made a change to the lineup by moving Austin Reaves to the bench and putting Cam Reddish in the starting five.

The decision paid off with the Lakers earning a 122-119 victory, with Ham telling reporters after the game it "wasn't a demotion" for Reaves:

"It was just a realignment. If anybody remembers those great San Antonio teams where everyone in the world knew Manu [Ginobili] was a starter. But sometimes to balance out your lineup, you have to put a player of his magnitude in a reserve role so now when the starters go to sit down and take their break, you're not totally falling off a cliff. You have balance in the second unit."

Reddish was terrific against the Suns, scoring a season-high 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range. He was plus-seven in 28 minutes, best among all Lakers starters.

Despite coming off the bench, Reaves was still on the floor for a majority of the game. He played 35 minutes, scoring 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and dishing out seven assists.

Expectations were high for Reaves coming into this season. He was terrific during the 2022-23 campaign, particularly during L.A.'s playoff run to the Western Conference Finals. The 25-year-old averaged 16.9 points on 44.3 percent three-point shooting and 4.6 rebounds in 16 postseason starts.

As a restricted free agent, there was some thought Reaves might garner a contract up to $100 million. He opted to return to the Lakers on a four-year, $53.8 million deal that was the max they could have offered.

The hype for Reaves increased during his stint with Team USA during the FIBA World Cup. He was arguably the second-best player on the team behind Anthony Edwards. The Oklahoma alum averaged 13.8 points on 56.6 percent shooting in eight games.

Ham went so far as to say he believes Reaves "will be an All-Star at some point soon."

While it's still very early this season, some of the hype around Reaves appears to have been overblown. He's increased his scoring average slightly from last season (13.0 to 13.3), but is doing it on 43/30/82 shooting splits.

Even though this was the first time Reaves didn't start a game, there have been signs Ham's support for his young guard has wavered at times. Reaves was benched for the entire overtime period in a 132-127 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 29 after shooting 1-of-12 from the field during regulation.

Reaves was one of the biggest reasons for optimism around the Lakers coming into this season. His performance off the bench against the Suns might be an indication it's better for him and the team to lead the second unit.