JJ Reddick reveals Austin Reeves’ ‘crazy’ role amid injury recovery

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers they are currently without Austin Reeves as he continues to recover from a calf injuryand before the team’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, head coach JJ Redick admitted he had no new update on Reaves’ potential return to the court.

The original timeline after Austin Reeves’ initial injury diagnosis was that he would be out for at least four weeks with the Lakers. Although Reaves has been ruled out, he is still an integral part of the team as almost an extension of the coaching staff. He was active on the bench, coaching his teammates and even suggesting plays here and there.

“He’s been great, at a high level…During this stretch, and it started with the first calf injury, we spent some time together before the game in my office, in our locker room,” Redick said before the Bucks game. “He could talk about golf, he could talk about his recovery. He’s come in there a couple of times and kind of gone over the ATOs with me … making potential suggestions and tweaks.”

As much as he tries to be like, ‘I’m a simple Southern kid who only likes golf,’ he’s a basketball nut,” Redick continued.

Before the injury, Reaves was on pace to be selected for his first All-Star appearance. During a three-game stretch near the start of the season, he dropped a game-high 51 points, followed by a 41-point game and followed it up with a game-winner.

He appeared in 23 games with just over 35 minutes per game. Reaves averaged a season-high 26.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.0 steals on 50.7 percent shooting from the field, 36.5 percent from the 3-point line and 87.3 percent from the free throw line.

U latest returns for the All-Star Game, Reaves was 11th among players in the Western Conference. Just before Reaves’ injury, Redick talked about his merits for the All-Star selection. While not being on the All-Star team would certainly be disappointing given the season Reaves has had, the Lakers would certainly prefer to have him healthy in time for the playoffs.

This summer is also shaping up to be big for him financially. Reaves can choose to opt out of his current contract, which he is pretty sure he will do, and sign a long-term extension with the Lakers.

Reaves declined a contract extension from the Lakers last offseason, but that decision has no bearing on his potential future with the team. It was to his financial advantage to decline the extension and wait until the 2026 offseason.