The Los Angeles Lakers have good reason to re-sign Austin Reaves, even as the annual salary he's expected to receive seemingly increases with every passing day. What they can't justify, however, is paying more than they should simply because they don't know how else they'd land a co-star for Luka Doncic.
It's an entirely valid concern, but teams that act out of fear in free agency tend to hand out contracts they learn to regret over time.
Doncic and Reaves have displayed intriguing chemistry as a backcourt pairing that was torching opposing defenses before injuries interrupted their progress in 2025-26. Other teams are likely to look to break that duo up, however, and that’s where the Lakers must exercise caution and rational thinking—an unlikely outcome if a new rumor proves true.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, rivals believe the Lakers will re-sign Reaves due to the uncertainty that would exist over how they'd replace him with another star.
"The general belief around the NBA — and one of the reasons most rivals expect the Lakers to get a deal done — is that they can’t lose Reaves for nothing and wouldn’t have a clean pathway to a player who could so easily slot next to Dončić."
Though the Lakers should re-sign Reaves at the right price, fear of the unknown isn't a good enough reason to potentially commit an overpay.
Lakers can't overpay Austin Reaves just to avoid losing him
Reaves, 28, is an excellent player who has improved year over year and has even addressed some of the concerns about his defense. That doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that he’s playing at a level that warrants an annual salary of $45 million.
That’s the range in which the Lakers may need to pay after Woike reported that the Brooklyn Nets are expected to extend Reaves an offer of four years and $178.5 million.
In fairness, of the 12 players who averaged at least 20.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 three-point field goals made in 2025-26, only Reaves and Keyonte George are making less than $39 million per season. Considering George is still on his rookie-scale contract, that seems to put Reaves’ market value into perspective.
The elephant in the room, however, is that Reaves continues to come up short in the playoffs—and the Lakers are about to pay him like a star who has no room for such woeful inconsistency.
Competitive offers put Austin Reaves at nearly $45 million per season
Since the Lakers reached the 2023 Western Conference Finals, Reaves has averaged 17.8 points and 4.4 assists on .427/.287/.870 shooting in the playoffs. During that time, he’s only recorded two more games with 20-plus points than he has with 13 or less. Numbers aren’t everything, but in this case, they tell an accurate story about his shortcomings.
There’s reason to believe that Reaves can turn a corner alongside an all-time postseason performer like Doncic, but a $45 million per season gamble would be tough to overcome if it takes a turn for the worst.
Even still, the Lakers are right to not want to lose Reaves for nothing in free agency. They’re also fair to believe it’d be difficult to find another star to pair with Doncic, particularly when one considers how limited their trade resources are.
The Lakers simply can’t justify handing out a five-year contract at a potentially massive annual rate just because of the fear of the unknown.
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