Reaves likes Lakers' 'pieces' in post-LeBron era

LAS VEGAS -- After signing the most lucrative NBA contract for an undrafted player in league history earlier this month, Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves -- wearing a backward hat and a golf T-shirt-- appeared to be the same low-key guy he's always been, speaking to reporters Monday for the first time since signing the new deal. What has changed, Reaves admitted, is the roster that will surround him, beginning with the departure of LeBron James. "I don't know if I've honestly processed it yet," Reaves said of James' decision to leave Los Angeles after eight years with the franchise. "Starting the season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. He's kind of all I've ever known. Just him being around, joking around, acting like he's 15. But that's his decision and ... I got nothing but love and respect for him." Reaves, who originally agree to a four-year, $185 million extension with a player option on the final season, ended up inking a four-year, $180 million deal, league sources confirmed to ESPN. Reaves' decision, sources told ESPN, will give the Lakers more financial flexibility moving forward -- making it possible to pursue a player with the non-taxpayer midlevel exception next summer. In the meantime, Reaves will be relied on more than he ever was in his first five years in Los Angeles to lead the Lakers alongside Luka Doncic. "Luka," Reaves said, "I mean, he's one of my best friends on this planet. Talk to him almost every single day. He sends me videos of his golf swing and asks me what he can do to get better, and I tell him I'm not a coach." Indeed, Reaves arrived in Las Vegas late Sunday night after a weekend in Lake Tahoe, where he competed in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament, featuring other basketball players, including Stephen Curry, Dell Curry, Ray Allen, Doc Rivers and Vinny Del Negro. He was greeted by a new group of teammates in Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton and Sandro Mamukelashvili, with all of Los Angeles' fresh additions gathering in Vegas to meet the coaching staff and scrimmage together. "The pieces that are coming in, I'm very excited about and I'm happy to get started today and see where it goes," Reaves said. Kessler and Reaves previously played together with Team USA in the FIBA World Cup. "He's a big, goofy dude that just enjoys life and has fun," Reaves said of the 7-foot-2 center. "Obviously, you see what he does basketball-wise and how he impacts the game. He's good defensively, good in the pocket. Just a smart player. So I'm happy to have him on the team and get to play with him." They'll be asked to fill in for the production of not only James but also Marcus Smart (Houston Rockets), Deandre Ayton (Washington Wizards), Rui Hachimura (LA Clippers) and Luke Kennard (Phoenix Suns), who all went from starting for the Lakers to open up the playoffs to finding new teams a couple of months later. "Everybody knows it's a completely different team," Reaves said. "There's going to be different things asked of different people, and if that's what JJ [Redick] and the staff asks of me, I'll do it to the best of my ability." Reaves, who told ESPN last season that he hoped to be a "Laker for life," took a significant step toward that goal with the pact he signed this summer. "I wanted to be a Laker the whole time," Reaves said. "We had that period from when the season ended until the first [of July] to get something done, and we figured it out before then. My heart was in L.A. the whole time."