Spurs missing on Austin Reaves continues to haunt San Antonio's fans

The Spurs will be squaring off against the Los Angeles Lakers in just a few short hours, and the prospect of facing Luka Doncic for the first time in Purple and Gold becomes more real by the second. He won't have his partner in crime, LeBron James, by his side tonight as Bron is recovering from an injured groin, but he won't be lacking firepower.

Austin Reaves is having a career year, averaging 19.4 points and 5.9 assists per game while shooting 36.5% from three. He shoots 87% from the free-throw line and competes hard on every possession. He's exactly the type of player San Antonio could use on their roster, and they passed up the chance to lure him to the 210 in 2023—a regrettable decision.

Spurs should have taken a run at Austin Reaves

On Bill Simmons' podcast, he brought up SA's decision not to make Reaves an offer during the same offseason they were set to add Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick. The Lakers guard obviously wasn't the same player then as he is now, but that's what projections are for. I'll even go as far as to say that I, myself, didn't believe Reaves would end up being this good. I was wrong.

Simmons explains that the Spurs had a real shot at acquiring Reaves that summer. He was awaiting an offer from SA's front office, but it never came, and LA put his feet to the fire to make a decision. He ended up signing a very team-friendly deal to return to the Lakers—four years/$ 54 million—and that contract is now one of the biggest steals in the league.

In the 18 games the former Wichita State hooper has played since the beginning of February, he's scored 20 or more points in 12 of them. That stretch includes a 37-point and 45-point explosion from the Laker, who should have been a Spurs player.

His interest in playing for San Antonio was likely tied to joining up with Wembanyama, whom everyone knew the Silver and Black would be drafting. We've seen several players express a desire to play next to the Alien in the short time he's been in the league, so it's not hard to imagine that Reaves may have been one of them.

Reaves has evolved into the sort of player the Spurs wanted Devin Vassell to morph into. He plays hard on every possession, and makes his teammates better. He's a bonafide number three option on a competitve team with championship aspirations.

He may have entered the league at an older age than Vassell, but he hasn't been in the league as long, and he wasn't given a five-year, $135 million contract. He was also an undrafted prospect, though he could have been picked, but it would have been in the second round. Austin Reaves was poised to be selected by Detroit but requested to go undrafted instead.

Either way, his expectations were much lower, and his rise to relevancy and borderline all-star contention is notable. The Spurs could have had an over-performing guard on a cheap contract but were too slow to the table and ended up paying Cedi Osman, who is no longer in the league. I don't always agree with Bill Simmons, but he's right on this one. The front office missed in a big way.