Austin Reaves showed why the Pistons wanted him so badly

Austin Reaves scored 43 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a road victory over the Detroit Pistons with Luka Doncic sidelined. PistonPowered highlighted that Detroit had heavily pursued Reaves during the offseason before he signed a four-year, $180 million extension with the Lakers. His versatile performance demonstrated the dynamic perimeter creation the Pistons had hoped to pair alongside Cade Cunningham.

The writer argues Detroit still urgently needs a second creator, particularly with Jalen Duren sidelined by a hamstring strain. While acknowledging Reaves has faced playoff shooting struggles, the article contends his versatile scoring and playmaking would have provided an ideal complement to Cunningham in Detroit's backcourt.