No player on the Los Angeles Lakers benefitted from the Russell Westbrook trade more than Austin Reaves. The Westbrook trade at the deadline opened the door for Reaves to start for the purple and gold and the rest was history.
Reaves excelled in the starting role and carried that into the NBA Playoffs, where the recently undrafted guard averaged 16.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. That earned Reaves a nice payday this offseason as well as an invitation to play for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.
Reaves has become the breakout NBA star of the last six months.