4 Contracts the Lakers must shed during the offseason

1. Austin Reaves

Austin Reaves was a HELL of a find by the Lakers' front office, as their scouts identified him and allowed the Lakers to land him without using a draft pick on him. The Lakers desperately needed Reaves to blossom after deciding against keeping Alex Caruso, despite his role on their championship roster.

Granted, Reaves is a much different player than Caruso (which is why he's on this list). Caruso is a stellar defender on the wing who can also shoot from long-range. 

Reaves isn't nearly the defender that Caruso is. However, he has playmaking chops that Caruso doesn't possess.

And he is a more consistent long-range shooter than Caruso. However, he was touted as the third banana for the Lakers, making a Big Three.

This was always far-fetched, much like the thoughts and assessments of him heading into the 2023-24 season. Any hopes of him taking a third-year leap were always lofty, as he's simply not a superstar.

In fact, his long-range shooting regressed from 39.8 percent in 2022-23 to 36.5 percent in 2023-24. The Lakers got him on a fairly team-friendly deal, adding even more excitement. This alone made it a no-brainer to bring him back. 

He could be the key to the Lakers getting a legitimate star, as he's a young player with value as a shooter and playmaker. And he's only under contract for two more years at roughly $12 million per year.

The Lakers' chances of winning a title within the next two years with him as the third banana are quite slim. Getting rid of him for an upgrade is the move.