We are Jack’s complete lack of surprise.
Two of your Los Angeles Lakers’ most important role players will have their non-guaranteed deals guaranteed through the duration of the 2022-23 NBA season, per Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Power forward/center Wenyen Gabriel and shooting guard Austin Reaves have emerged as critical pieces to head coach Darvin Ham’s rotation this year, and will deservedly be Lakers for the long haul now.
LA had until January 10th to guarantee their deals.
Reaves, 25, first joined the Lakers on a two-way contract before quickly outplaying it even before the start of his 2021-22 rookie season, when he joined the Lakers on a two-year minimum contract worth $2.5 million, though his $1,563,518 for the 2022-23 season was non-guaranteed. When the Lakers picked up his option over the summer, it seemed like something of an inevitability that he would be retained heading into the year. This season, he has become a clear keeper. The 6’5″ shooting guard is now clear fan favorite and invaluable role player on both sides of the ball, and appears poised to earn an eight-figure annual paycheck as a free agent this summer. Unfortunately, Los Angeles will now be without the normally-durable Reaves for at least two weeks as he deals with a hamstring strain.
Last year, the 25-year-old Gabriel signed 10-day contracts with the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans before agreeing to a two-way contract with the Lakers. The Lakers, a team filthy with decrepit veterans, opted eventually to put one of those past-their-prime players, forward Trevor Ariza, to pasture in favor of the springier Gabriel, who was promoted onto the club’s standard 15-man roster in April on a pro-rated two-year, $1.9 million minimum contract.
After the Lakers brought in several players in free agency (Thomas Bryant, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson) who seemed ostensibly like they could get major minutes ahead of Gabriel, his status seemed a bit more tenuous this year. But he has lapped Jones and JTA in the team’s rotation, playing mostly as a small ball center. Through 29 games this season, Gabriel is averaging 5.8 points on 60.9% shooting and 3.9 rebounds across 14.4 minutes for the Lakers.
