The Los Angeles Lakers and Austin Reaves are widely expected to continue their marriage this summer by agreeing on a five-year deal for Reaves in the realm of $200 million or more. While Reaves is eligible for a projected $239-$241 million, most analysts think LA will seek to land on a contract with AR that's less than the full max, so as to keep their cap situation as flexible as possible.
The Lakers' plan here is likely to agree to a deal with Reaves in principle, but then wait until the latter portion of the offseason to actually ink that contract formally. The reason for this timing is that Reaves' cap hold of $21 million is far lower than the yearly figure he'll eventually sign for. Although the Lakers will have to account for that larger number as they shop around this summer, it still makes sense to leave the cap sheet as open as possible while doing that shopping.
In the meantime, Reaves will have other suitors knocking on his door. The Athletic's Dan Woike recently reported that the Brooklyn Nets are expected to extend a four-year, max deal ($177 million) to AR. The Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons have also been mentioned in connection with Reaves.
Any non-Lakers suitor for Austin Reaves will pretty much have to pay the max
The $177 million that Brooklyn is expected to offer Reaves represents the most money that a non-Lakers team can pay Reaves. It's also the figure that any non-Lakers team will have to wave in front of Reaves to get his attention at all. This concept was reiterated by HoopsHype's Michael Scotto in recent days:
"Teams besides the Lakers know they’ll have to offer a max contract for Reaves to realistically entertain the thought of leaving the Lakers," Scotto wrote. Â
While a four-year, $177 million deal might give Reaves a higher AAV than his Lakers deal, he's making more money in the long run on a five-year contract. This, paired with Reaves' desire to remain with his current Lakers teammates Luka Doncic and LeBron James, makes it all but guaranteed that AR will return to the Lakers this summer.
It would take a massive fumbling from the Lakers with their contract offer to Reaves to get him to consider walking out of LA and taking Brooklyn's or another team's four-year max offer. The Lakers need to be careful about not lowballing Reaves too much, but their front office is experienced enough to know not to play games. Reaves will be a Laker. While AR is forcing any other interested teams to extend their maximum offer, it ultimately won't make them any more appealing in his eyes.
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