Can Austin Reaves get back on track this season?

After an up-and-down season last year, can Austin Reaves reach new heights in his fourth season as a Laker or is he already at his ceiling?

Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we'll be writing columns every week day, breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we take a look at Austin Reaves.

There's nothing like homegrown talent.

Reaves opted to go undrafted and took a shot at making the Lakers roster back in 2021. He quickly became a fan favorite and rose to stardom thanks to his many memeable and memorable moments with his coming-out party during his "I'm Him" game in the playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies, serving as a combination of both.

However, most of his 2023-24 season was a frustrating experience. He struggled to find a rhythm early on and Darvin Ham exacerbated the situation by benching him.

Reaves ultimately ended up in the right spot late in the season, averaging 17.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game during March, his best splits of the year.

With the Lakers under new leadership and reports suggesting an uptick in Reaves' usage, what can we expect from him this season?

What is his best-case scenario?

If everything breaks right for Reaves, he'll be an ironman for the Lakers. That means playing in all 82 games, starting in each one and leading the team in minutes played. This would continue his upward trajectory as Reaves is coming off a year where he played every game, but only started in 57.

Stats-wise, he should continue to increase all across the board in points, rebounds, assists, and steals, flirting with the notion that he could one day be an All-Star even in a stacked Western Conference.

His defense will continue to improve. He will handle on-ball defensive duties better and no longer be physically pushed around by the strongest backcourt players in the NBA.

Early in Reaves’ career, defense was a strong point for him. However, as his offensive responsibility has grown, his defense has suffered and it became glaringly obvious at the start of last season, even playing a role in Ham benching him for a defense-first guard in Cam Reddish.

Growing into a star on this team, Reaves finds a balance between the "try hard" tactics that got him here and becoming a high-usage player who carries a larger offensive burden.

He's taking more and more shots late in games, his time as the guard running the offense increases and he's more often than not making the right decisions, leading the Lakers to victories thanks to his execution.

Reaves' increased role helps take some of the load off LeBron James. He can take back-to-backs off and the offense doesn't fall off a cliff.

Reaves on-ball means LeBron can conserve energy for stretches in-game and the chemistry with Davis and him in pick-and-roll actions rivals the bond D'Angelo Russell and Davis had last year.

Suddenly, the only thing truly missing from the Lakers is another elite wing since Reaves is deemed a good enough guard to help the team win it all.

What is his worst-case scenario?

With more minutes comes less improvement. Reaves has actually shown us just about the best he has to offer and there isn't much more meat left on the bone.

He starts to plateau in production and while he will still be one of the best players on the Lakers, it’s not enough to raise the ceiling of this roster.

His 3-point shooting remains hovering around 36% and while that’s not awful, it’s mediocre. The Lakers need their starting guard to be more than just a streaky shooter, which is what Reaves was last season.

On the defensive side of the ball he is a weak link and the place teams look to attack when on the floor. Pairing him with Russell in the backcourt becomes impossible as the opposing teams feast on the perimeter.

Suddenly, Reaves is closer to Woody in Toy Story than Buzz Light Year to Lakers fans. The excitement is gone the love is fading and suddenly, the thought of throwing him into the trade machine doesn’t hurt so much, especially if it finally lands them another star.

What is his most likely role on the team?

Given that he's increased his role annually, I lean toward Reaves improving this year.

I trust that with a proper offseason of rest and plenty of golfing, he'll be ready to hit the ground running this season.

This is in stark contrast to the summer before when, instead of some rest and relaxation, he played in the FIBA World Cup representing Team USA. While that was undoubtedly a worthwhile experience, it seemed to affect him early and factor into his slow start last year.

It's clear that no other guard on this roster is quite at his level. While none of us know how Redick will approach rotations, I belive he will have trust in Reaves and we'll see his maximum potential.

So, expect to see Reaves on the floor more than any other Laker and conversations about the big two of LeBron and AD to become talks about the big three featuring Bron, Davis and Reaves.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.