The Los Angeles Lakers' top offseason priority is re-signing Austin Reaves after he declines his $14.9 million player option to hit free agency. There are looming threats that could try to lure the guard away from LA, like the Nets, but he's not expected to leave the team that signed him after he went undrafted in 2021, as Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reiterated on Monday (subscription required):
As our publisher wrote Sunday night, most teams continue to project that Reaves will remain a Laker after his surge in prominence over the past two seasons.
Fans didn't necessarily need another reminder that, in all likelihood, Reaves will be back in purple and gold next season, but it's still encouraging to hear.
He's said that he wants to stay with the Lakers. Luka Dončić said he wants to keep playing with Reaves. Rob Pelinka said they want him back.
It's not a done deal, but it feels like we're as close as we can get to that point without it being official.
Austin Reaves isn't going anywhere
Reaves bet on himself when he signed with Los Angeles in 2021, knowing that was exactly where he wanted to be. It worked out beautifully, to the point where he is now the No. 2 option and part of their long-term core.
A lot has changed with the Lakers over the past year and a half, but their belief in Reaves hasn't. Well, technically, it has because it's grown. They believe that he can help lead them to a championship alongside Dončić.
It's not a question of whether Los Angeles wants him back, but how much the front office will pay to make that happen. It's estimated that Reaves' new deal will pay him at least $40 million annually, though the Lakers could give him a few more million. Dan Woike of The Athletic reported last week that the Nets are expected to offer him a four-year, $178.5 million deal, which comes out to about $44.6 million per year, so LA could end up paying him around that range.
The Lakers should already be prepared to do that, and they probably are. They are well aware of the cost of keeping Reaves. If it were something they were thinking twice about, that information would already be out there. There is a reason that indications are, and have been, that the 28-year-old will remain in Los Angeles.
There's a chance something else could happen before it becomes official, but it's slim. Los Angeles will lock down its backcourt this summer, keeping the ideal partner beside Dončić, and then work to round out the roster around that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google