People need to stop being so radical about AR (both positive and negative)
!!(Warning Long Post ahead)!!
I just want to share some of my observations and projections going forward since the fans are in a constant war over this guy. Probably gonna get downvoted but i would prefer to have an actual duscussion with fans instead of arguing. My stance with this player:
Is AR a good player?
- Yes.
Could he one day make an All-Star team?
- Yes.
Should the team resign him?
- Yes.
Can AR be a 2nd option who leads the team to a title?
- No.
Can he bring his regular szn production in the playoffs?
- No.
Reaves has built his game on 2 things. The first is attacking the rim, this is his main way of scoring. He attacks the rim with a quick first step and attemps a layup or draws contact to get to the line. His other way of scoring is his 3pt shot (but that way less volume than him attacking the rim)
The issue with Austin is that his playstyle doesn't translate well into the playoffs. The refs let teams play with more physicality. Opponents also clutter the paint more and defend tighter. In a 7 game series they also prepare way more from your game, they know what spots he wants to attack and defend that space more. This means his layup attempts are worse, and he isn't getting his FTs either. So he is basically running into the paint where he is constantly getting stripped and beat up by the other team. I get his frustration but he is also constantly complaining which paired with a turnover leads to fastbreak points to the other team. That needs to stop since its a momentum killer. He is virtually trying to be a bulldozing bowling ball that gets to the rim with a few steps like Giannis when he isn't that strong, tall or fast.
The fact that he has never averaged 20ppg in the playoffs points towards him not being a reliable costar who can handle the Luka-less minutes when he will need to rest. I know he had injuries and Luka being in this series might have affected his game but you cannot pay a guy based on hypotheticals. 16ppg is his playoff production spanning 3 years thats what we have seen.
Now pair this with his defensive issues. And add the fact that the guy who the franchise going to be built around is also a bad defender. And you got yourself a backcourt that cannot carry this team since their weaknesses overlap.
The truth is AR's game and production is closer to an elite 6th man's like Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams etc... than a legit 2nd option star like a Klay Thompson or Kyrie Irving, Dwayne Wade etc....
The team has to resign him since otherwise they would be losing value for nothing and he is too good to let walk for cap space. But giving him anywehre above 38M is a bad idea if they want to keep him.
If he signs for 30-35M than he could be an effective scoring burst for the team going forward. But it's clear that he cannot be the 2nd option next to Luka he isn't good enough, and his game doesn't fit well with Doncic and his weaknesses.
So i think either sign him for a good value deal to keep as a 3rd option or sign him and trade him when the time comes. Otherwise they will get exploited and they might aswell waste Luka's prime.