The Los Angeles Lakers are currently trying to put together a run to not only make the NBA Playoffs this season but make some serious noise in said playoffs. The Western Conference is anyone’s to win and if the Lake Show can put together two healthy months in a row then it is theirs for the taking.
While the coaches and the players on the court are working hard to accomplish that, the front office should be working hard with one eye toward the upcoming offseason this summer. There are three tasks, in particular, that the team should already be working on.
3 offseason tasks the Lakers should already be working on:
1. A new contract for Austin Reaves
Austin Reaves is a restricted free agent this summer and there has already been a lot of talk about his contract situation. Reaves has really blossomed into one of the most important role players on the Lakers and there is no doubt that the team is going to try to bring him back.
The Lakers should already be in contact with Reaves’ agents and should be trying to get a deal agreed to before he hits the restricted free-agent market. Because he has two or fewer years of league service, another team can offer Reaves a contract that pays him around the same that the Lakers can the first two years with a huge pay jump in years three and four.
Los Angeles can match this but they would have to take on the yearly cap hit instead of the average cap hit, which the other team can do. This is important as instead of Reaves being a $24 million or so cap hit a year, he would end up being a max cap hit in years three and four for LA.
As great as Reaves is, he does not need to be taking up around $35 million in cap space three years from now. LA needs to work out a deal as soon as possible to avoid this.