After a bad weekend of press, Team USA and Austin Reaves bounced back on Tuesday with a blowout win over Italy to advance in the World Cup. The backlash against the team, and Austin Reaves along with it, disappeared for a day, at least. And for this game, Reaves wasn't the story. He played well, no question, but Tyrese Halliburton and Mikael Bridges combined for 42 points on 14-20 from the floor, and 10-14 from 3-point range.
Comparatively, Reaves (12/4/3) was just hanging out.
But he continues to shine in ways that reflect some of the commentary from a recent story at The Athletic from Jovan Buha, in which he reports the Lakers, always searching for that third star, wonder if Reaves could become that guy, in one form or another. They've also, though, reportedly looked at more conventional names, including Atlanta's Trae Young, a name a that always seems at least tangentially tied to the Lakers, chatter wise.
But is Young a good idea, literally or figuratively, before even discussing what it might take to get him? He's a name that leads to a larger discussion about what kind of "star" the Lakers should next pursue, whether now or after LeBron retires.
From there, LeBron has played in an era of incredible media scrutiny. And as Rich Paul explained to Gilbert Arenas on his podcast, a level of attention and immediacy that no other star has seen through the course of his career. Certainly not Michael Jordan, or even Kobe. The combination of 24/7 traditional media combined with the explosion of social media? It's a different animal.
How much credit does he deserve for moving through it basically free of controversy?
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: Reaves bounces back, and are the Lakers still looking for a star?
SEGMENT 2: Is Trae Young a good idea? (Literally or figuratively?)
SEGMENT 3: Rich Paul on LeBron and the media era in which he's played.
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