NBA Rumors: Lakers, Austin Reaves, Pistons, JB Bickerstaff, Blazers

Lakers

Lakers guard Austin Reaves is expected to have a real market this summer. Maybe a huge one.

According to The Athletic’s Dan Woike and Sam Amick, the Jazz and Hawks are among the teams with known interest in the Lakers guard heading into free agency.

That shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Reaves just averaged 23.3 points while continuing to emerge as one of the league’s better secondary scorers. He’s 27, can handle the ball, create offense and play on or off another star. In a thin free-agent class, that type of player gets expensive fast.

The expectation remains that the Lakers re-sign him. Reaves has repeatedly expressed a desire to stay in Los Angeles, and there were reports during the season that he could even take a slight discount to remain with the franchise.

Still, “discount” is relative.

With the cap climbing and younger star-level talent hard to find, league executives reportedly believe Reaves could command more than $40 million annually on a new deal.

That leaves the Lakers trying to figure out the balancing act around Luka Doncic, Reaves and LeBron James, whose future remains one of the bigger offseason storylines in the league.

Pistons

One ugly Game 7 apparently changed nothing in Detroit.

According to The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson, the Pistons remain fully committed to coach J.B. Bickerstaff despite the 31-point loss to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“The Pistons view him as the coach of the future,” Patterson wrote, adding that the expectation around the league is Bickerstaff will be with the franchise long term.

And honestly, the overall body of work supports it.

Detroit won 60 games this season, earned the No. 1 seed in the East and advanced past Orlando in seven games after trailing the series 3-1. Earlier this month, the organization rewarded Bickerstaff with a contract extension.

More importantly, team officials believe he’s built something sustainable with a young roster that keeps improving.

Trail Blazers

Portland’s coaching search is going everywhere at once.

Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori is among the candidates drawing interest, alongside Lakers assistant Greg St. Jean and former Blazers coach Terry Stotts.

The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer added last week that Portland hopes to interview more than 30 candidates before making a decision.

So yes, they are casting a wide net.

Nori has quietly become one of the more respected assistants in the league. He has interviewed for multiple jobs in recent years and may finally be getting close to landing one.

St. Jean also brings a strong résumé, including stops with the Lakers, Mavericks and Suns. He was part of the Lakers’ 2020 championship staff before returning to Los Angeles last year.

Then there’s Stotts, who probably needs no introduction in Portland. He coached the Blazers from 2012-21 and reached the playoffs in all but one season during that run.

The wildcard in all this may be ownership.

Fischer previously reported that new owner Tom Dundon hopes to keep the salary for Portland’s next coach between $1 million and $1.5 million annually. If true, that could make it harder to land one of the bigger names expected to hit the market.