Former NBA Player Thinks Austin Reaves Is Getting A Big Contract Because He Is White And Plays On The Lakers Who Are Trash

Rashad McCants believes Austin Reaves is getting a deal of around $50 million in free agency because he is white and plays on a bad team like the Lakers.

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Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Austin Reaves has enjoyed a solid sophomore season with the Los Angeles Lakers and has really impressed in the last few weeks.

He looks set for a nice payday of around $50 million over four years, but former NBA player Rashad McCants doesn’t think he deserves it.

“But y’all giving it to him cause one he white and one he playing with the Lakers and they trash,” said McCants. “So it’s like, if the Lakers ain’t trash, he ain’t playing.”

(starts at 19:16 mark):

To say one of the reasons Reaves is getting that deal is because he is white is unfair. The money is hardly an outrageous sum in today’s NBA and his play does merit a contract along those lines. In March, Reaves is averaging 17.8 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 3.4 RPG while shooting 53.0% from the field.

The Lakers also have a much better team after the trades they made before the deadline and he is still getting significant time on the court, so McCant’s other point doesn’t really hold up either. The one advantage that Reaves does have is that he is on the Lakers, which gives him more exposure, than if he was on some smaller market team. We see that with someone like Jarred Vanderbilt, who was hardly ever talked about by the average NBA fan or the media but is now hailed as one of the best defenders in the league after being traded to the Lakers.


Austin Reaves Is Expected To Receive Multiple Offers In Free Agency

Whether McCants likes it or not, Reaves is going to get his money and might get even a bit more, as he is expected to receive multiple offers in free agency. He has pretty solid fundamentals and has shown an ability to consistently get to the foul line, both qualities that NBA teams value highly.

Reaves being an unrestricted free agent means the Lakers can match any offer he gets from another team. They do seem to rate him highly but we have seen the Lakers let players like Alex Caruso leave in free agency. The fanbase was furious when Caruso was let go and it’d be a lot worse if Reaves leaves this summer.

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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