Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is about to be eligible for a five-year, $241 million maximum contract extension that could drive his AAV north of $48 million. Lakers observers seem to be divided on what this new financial landscape for Reaves really means.
For Reaves himself, it's obviously a huge win, but what about for the Lakers? Beyond paying AR, Los Angeles is also set to deal with LeBron James negotiations this summer, the likes of which will result in a high cost if Bron is retained; plus, the Lakers have other urgent roster needs beyond re-signing Reaves and James. This has led some Lakers fans to bemoan Reaves' imminent payday, even if his career thus far completely warrants a max deal, or something close to it.
The Lakers should think twice about re-signing Austin Reaves
I'm in the camp that believes the Lakers should seriously consider moving on from Reaves, and I've been in this camp for weeks. It's my opinion that you can't build a championship team around two guards who aren't good defenders. As such, I don't think that a Luka Doncic-Reaves "Big 2" is a wise formula for the Lakers moving forward.
Again, I'd like to reiterate that I'm not saying that Reaves isn't a max player (or something close to it). He is, but that doesn't mean that he and Luka are the ideal pairing to build a contender around.
For what it's worth, I'm not alone in wondering whether the Lakers are about to make a mistake with Reaves. The Ringer's Bill Simmons recently expressed some Reaves doubts on an episode of his podcast.
"Would you feel good about paying him $50 million a year after the series you just watched?" Simmons asked his guest Zach Lowe, referring to the highly athletic, highly physical NBA Finals.
Simmons then acknowledged that the Lakers have already decided on Reaves, suggesting that Luka's say in the matter was a big influence on that decision:
"The problem for them is that they have to pay [Reaves], because Luka's like, 'What do you mean you're not paying him? He's my second-best teammate!' But ... two $50-plus million guys makes everything really hard."
Austin Reaves is going to take less than the max ... right?
Simmons conveniently didn't mention the prevailing narrative that Reaves won't be getting a full max deal from the Lakers. While LA can offer him more than any competing team, estimates on what AR will sign for, most notably from The Athletic's Sam Vecenie, land around five years and $200 million, amounting to a $40 million AAV. That's a much more digestible figure for Reaves than the $50 million per year that Simmons was parading to strengthen his own stance on Reaves.
Nonetheless, I side with Simmons on this occasion when it comes to Reaves. If the Lakers are definitely bringing back Bron, I think they should entertain letting Reaves walk and moving in a different direction. Does this mean delaying the official start of the Luka Era a whole 'nother year? Yes, but at least it would set up a brighter future (replete with renewed flexibility once Bron retires) than a Luka-Reaves core would.
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