The Los Angeles Lakers have thrown caution to the wind and signed Austin Reaves to a four-year, max-level contract worth $185 million. It’s a bold declaration that Los Angeles believes he can put his postseason woes behind him.
More importantly, it’s a commitment to a future that will require Reaves to live up to the star standard with far less room for patience—if any at all.
Reaves has put together an excellent start to his NBA career. He’s increased his scoring average across each of his five seasons in the NBA and has developed into one of the best playmaking shooting guards in the game today. This past season, he averaged 23.3 points and 5.5 assists per game.
Reaves has even become a respectable off-ball defender who’s willing to chase his man around screens and fight through contact.
The difference between today and yesterday, however, is a matter of expectations and obligations. Prior to his new contract, Reaves was on a team-friendly deal and was thus easily forgiven for his shortcomings, as the Lakers maintained enough space to add pieces around him that could mask his flaws. Even when they failed to, he was still playing at a level that exceeded his contract’s worth.
After signing a max-level deal, however, Reaves will be prohibiting financial flexibility and will thus be held to the standard of flexibility with the promise of delivering at a level that makes it so the Lakers don’t need the cap space they could’ve had.
Austin Reaves must play at a max-level rate to justify new salary
Reaves has struggled mightily over his past three postseason appearances. That’s at least made it worth questioning if he can live up to a max-level standard.
That standard, of course, asks players to play like stars under the bright lights of the postseason—even when opposing teams are game planning to stop them.
If Reaves succeeds in doing so, then the rest should fall into place. If he fails to, however then the Lakers will find it significantly more difficult to afford high-level talent they may need to fill the voids his underachievement would create.
Whether fair or foul, it’s the burden that max-level players carry—and the inherent difference between the present and a past in which his contract was a selling point rather than a standard.
The good news for Los Angeles is that Reaves has already displayed intriguing chemistry with franchise player Luka Doncic. That eases the individual burden, as success can be measured by how well they coexist. They simply won’t live up to their potential if Reaves fails to right the ship after averaging 17.8 points on .427/.287/.870 shooting between his past three trips to the playoffs.
Reaves earned a raise, but the grace period is over and the Lakers’ room for patience has run out after he agreed to be paid like a top-tier player.
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