No one knows what this summer holds for the Los Angeles Lakers — but signing Austin Reaves to a long-term deal will be priority No. 1 for Rob Pelinka and the rest of the front office. After Jaren Jackson Jr. was stunningly traded to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, one roadblock has potentially been removed from the Lakers' upcoming courting of Reaves.
After taking on Jackson Jr's massive contract (he's set to make $205 million over the next four seasons), the Jazz will no longer have money burning a hole in their pocket this summer. There have been plenty of rumors linking Reaves and the Jazz, but those don't feel nearly as realistic now after they acquired Jackson Jr, whose extension only kicked in this year.
Granted, the Lakers were probably always going to present Reaves with a blank check as soon as possible this summer to avoid any free agency drama. Plus, they can offer him more than any other team is able to.
Still, the Jazz felt like a real threat to offer Reaves a max, and with JJJ and Lauri Markkanen already making over $80 million next year, plus the team's clear intent to sign Walker Kessler to a long-term deal, signing Reaves can basically be dismissed as a possibility for them.
This is a stellar move for the Jazz, for the record. Adding JJJ took some serious draft capital, but they added an elite 26 year-old defender with four years of team control. But it's also probably an admission that Reaves was never going anywhere except L.A. for the foreseeable future.
Lakers have a clearer path to signing Austin Reaves after JJJ trade
The future of the Lakers is pretty clear; it's Reaves and Luka Doncic running this team together. LeBron James playing for the team in 2026-27 feels like a longshot, meaning Reaves will officially occupy the No. 2 role for years to come.
Reaves himself hasn't been too subtle about his desire to stay in Los Angeles, and the Lakers would be out of their minds to not do everything in their power to make Reaves happy with a very large paycheck.
With the Jazz now presumably out of the way, the number of obstacles to getting that deal done continues to decrease. Ausin Reaves, you are (still) a Los Angeles Laker. For a long time.
Sorry, just practicing for when it becomes official in a few months.