The Los Angeles Lakers have invested in Austin Reaves with a lucrative four-year, $178 million contract. It was a clear designation of Reaves as a star-caliber player in Los Angeles' view, with far too much of a financial investment being made to believe that he can justify playing at any lower of a level.
Los Angeles sent a quiet message to Reaves, however, when they didn't include a fifth year in the deal: They aren't yet ready to go all-in on believing he's a true star.
Reaves will make an average annual salary of $44.5 million. At that rate, it's hard to truly argue that the Lakers haven't endorsed him as a star-caliber player. For an individual Los Angeles was determined to re-sign, however, what they refused to provide is a relevant piece of information.
By refusing to include a fifth season on Reaves' deal, the Lakers have effectively protected themselves from the possibility that he can't live up to expectations.
In addition to not receiving a fifth season, Reaves' fourth year is actually a player option. Though that puts the ball in his court, it also speaks to how both he and the Lakers have left something of an out in the contract should things not go as planned—a full year earlier than he was eligible to have a player option included.
Having declined to include a fifth year in Reaves' contract, as they were able to do, it's clear that the Lakers are still cautious in their optimism about his ability to make the leap to stardom.
Austin Reaves' contract is four, not five years—a sign of uncertainty?
It was reported that Los Angeles offered Reaves in the range of $30 million per season and was forced to bring the deal up to $44.5 million because of the Detroit Pistons' interest in signing the talented 2-guard. That could explain why the Lakers didn't provide a fifth year at the elevated rate.
They were still willing to pay him enough to express their belief that he was worth re-signing at any annual cost, but they've simultaneously challenged him to prove he can make the leap.
Reaves is certainly knocking on the door. In 2025-26, he averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.3 three-point field goals made per game on .490/.360/.871 shooting. He was one of 12 players to average at least 20.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 three-pointers.
His scoring average has declined from the regular season to the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, however, and he's shot at a clip of .409/.293/.860 during that time.
The good news is that Reaves has already created captivating chemistry with franchise player Luka Doncic. The better news is that he never seemed to truly assert himself next to LeBron James and that issue resolved itself when the four-time MVP informed the Lakers that he wouldn't re-sign.
With a fourth-year player option and a fifth year omitted from the contract, Los Angeles is simply playing it as safe as it can with a massive annual salary.
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