The Washington Wizards could be big fish hunting next offseason but the dreams of landing Austin Reaves are getting more unrealistic by the day.
Reaves, a former undrafted prospect that has made quite the name for himself since landing with the Los Angeles Lakers has become one of the most intriuing young guards in the league.
The Oklahoma product is coming off a career-year with the Lakers, averaging 20.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds, while shooting 46% from field goal range and 37.7% from beyond the arc.
At 27, Reaves has made it clear that entering his prime, he sees a world in which he could easily become an All-Star player.
Nonetheless, on a team led by Luka Doncic and LeBron James, achieving that accolade could be a bit of a further reach compared to if he was the top option on another squad.
However, if being the top guy on a bad team was the only way Reaves could get the chance to prove he's worthy of an All Star nod, the Arkansas native made it clear that he could do without earning that honor.
Reaves rules out playing for a bad team
In an interview with The Athletic's Dan Woike, Reave's expressed his lack of desire in taking his talents to a team that's not close to contending rather than chasing his personal goals.
"I feel like I could be an All-Star," Reaves said. "But all of that is, in my opinion, relative. Thank God I play with Luka and LeBron. I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m just going out chucking, getting numbers. If that’s the map for me to be an All-Star, I don’t care about that.”
There's no denying that Reaves has the talent to be an All-Star caliber player and if he hasn't already proven that, it's solely due to the fact of the overload of talent already on the Lakers roster.
Joining the Wizards would be a big opportunity for Reaves to be the top guy on a team of his own, especially on a rebuilding squad that could use a star addition to the backcourt.
Despite that, the guard's lack of interest in playing on a bad team makes a move to Washington highly unlikely.
Although the Reaves update may not be the one fans hoped to hear, Washington should focus on players who want to be in the DMV and embrace the rebuild moving forward.