After the Lakers’ season was cut short in the first round for the second straight year, many blamed Austin Reaves for their brutal elimination. His numbers declined significantly during the Timberwolves series, averaging only 16.2 points and less than four assists. As expected, AR’s disappointing performance led to speculations about him getting traded this summer. And his agent Aaron Reilly fired back at the critics with a controversial tweet!

“Next year is going to be a show. People have no idea what’s to come. Keep putting him in trade rumors for second string centers.” Reilly wrote, making a bold claim about his client’s future. Nearly a month after his viral statement, Reaves finally broke silence on his feelings about it. “Honestly, I think it’s funny. I think he called me right after ‘Hope you don’t mind.’ I was like ‘I really don’t care.’” Reaves said in his interview with Trevor Lane.

Yes, the Lakers guard had no issues with his agent making public statements on his behalf because Reaves was focused on his craft instead of the outside noise, “I mean anything anybody’s gonna say is not gonna bother how I approach things or anything. I’m gonna go try to do the same thing I’ve done the past four years and that’s get better every summer.” AR also highlighted that this is not the first time Aaron has made such bold claims about him.

“I’m pretty sure, I think he had a tweet like that before last year. And then I go on and I have my best season of my career. I like to continue to grow and get better and I just kind of leave all the bulls— at the door.” He remarked. Well, Austin is clearly unbothered by what critics say about him, which is evident from his constant year-on-year improvement. Sure, he was unable to step up in the Wolves series. But AR was dominant during the regular season, averaging 20.2 points and nearly six assists. Many considered him a legitimate member of the Lakers Big Three alongside Luka and LeBron. Clearly, the trade buzz does not affect Reaves, and he hopes to continue his stay in LA.

Austin Reaves doubles down on his aspiration of remaining a Laker for life

In just four years, Austin has ascended from an undrafted free agent to one of the most beloved Lakers stars. All credit to his constant hard work and zeal to improve. Even his teammates have complete faith in him, as LeBron has admired his killer mentality on multiple occasions, “Yeah AR, he’s tough as nails. His game is, he’s great.” With all that Reaves has achieved wearing the Purple and Gold, he does not see himself ever leaving this franchise.

“I want to play my whole career in LA. I love it there. I love the fans. Love the weather, love the golf. And obviously the Lakers is the best organization in basketball.” He said recently. Then, the star guard doubled down on his comments during the interview with Lane, “I grew up a Lakers fan. I was a huge Kobe fan. For the Lakers to be the first team that I was involved with, obviously on the two-way and then the contract, kind of just the story and the fans in LA have treated me great ever since Day 1. It feels like a second home to me.”

Laker Nation has embraced AR in a way only a few players in this league are. And he wants to return the favor by leading the franchise to its ultimate goal, “I feel like we are right there to creating something special. I wanna win a championship more than anything, especially with that organization. So, yeah, I wanna be there.” Reaves has two years left on his deal with a $14.8 million player option for 2026-27. As evident from his comments, he would be looking to ink another extension with the Lakers, likely next summer by declining the player option. And his dream of staying a Lakers lifer could come true if he continues to show constant growth. Do you agree?