Lakers can give Austin Reaves the same contract as Talen Horton-Tucker
The Los Angeles Lakers have been down this path before and did so relatively recently. The team was facing a near-identical situation two summers ago with Talen Horton-Tucker, which is the same offseason in which the team let Alex Caruso walk for free.
Granted, there was not as much competition for THT as there could be for Reaves this offseason. THT was very much still an unfinished product and the Lakers were paying him based on his potential. That is not the case with Reaves, who definitely has more market value.
However, the length and the value of the contract could end up following the same format for the Lakers. Los Angeles used its Early Bird Rights (which it has to use to re-sign Reaves) to re-sign THT to a three-year, $30.78 million contract.
The value would be different for Reaves, though, as the value of the contract with Early Bird Rights is worth the Mid-Level Exception. The MLE is worth more now than when THT first signed his contract, so Reaves’ salary would be slightly more.
However, the structure can remain the same, and most importantly, the player option could remain the same. THT had two years guaranteed with the third season being a player option. This would give Reaves the ability to opt out of his contract and pursue another deal.
This is when his contract would have inflated anyway, so this would be an example of the Lakers giving Reaves the chance to get more money in those third and fourth years if he continues to play well.
Under this structure, Reaves would get a three-year, $36.7 million contract with a player option for the 2025-26 season.