Rob Pelinka has made questionable contract decisions with the Los Angeles Lakers, but rewarding Austin Reaves with a four-year, $54 million deal in 2023 is the gift that keeps on giving. In addition to Reaves outplaying his annual salary, the team-friendly contract created spending flexibility.
Three years later, the same contract has created a bargain of a $20.9 million cap hold that will play a direct role in the Lakers attempting to turn the 2026 offseason into a reconstruction of their roster and identity.
Reaves will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and is widely expected to sign a lucrative new contract wherever he lands. Before he does so, however, a negotiating window will open up that allows the incumbent team to discuss a potential new contract.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, said negotiating window has opened the door for the Lakers to agree to a new deal with Reaves and then sign other players before formally re-signing Reaves.
"The Lakers have an exclusive negotiating window following the conclusion of the NBA season and before the opening of free agency on June 30. Because of Reaves’ relatively small cap hold ($20.9 million), the Lakers would like to agree to a deal but hold off signing Reaves until they execute the rest of their offseason business."
Pelinka has certainly made questionable decisions in the past, but the contract he signed Reaves to in 2023 is directly responsible for the opportunities the Lakers now have in 2026.
Austin Reaves' $20.9 million cap hold opens door for big Lakers offseason
Had Reaves been paid at market value over the past two seasons, his cap hold would've been significantly bigger than $20.9 million. For perspective, he was one of just 12 players who averaged at least 20.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 three-point field goals made in 2025-26.
Excluding Reaves and Keyonte George, who's on a rookie-scale contract, the player from that list who's averaging the least amount of money per season is Jalen Brunson at $39,137,281. That would translate to a cap hold of more than $58 million.
Clearly, Brunson and Reaves are in different tiers of NBA players at this stage, but Reaves is now projected to make in the range of $40 million per season. As such, the point stands that Pelinka re-signing Reaves at a bargain price will pay dividends during the Lakers star's upcoming period of unrestricted free agency.
The Lakers not only have the freedom to negotiate with Reaves without needing to immediately sign him to a contract, but the luxury of only having $20.9 million held up while they do so.
As a result, the Lakers can conceivably sign new contracts with high-impact players at multiple positions. That could enable them to find the 3-and-D wings and starting-caliber center they desperately need—and will likely need to pay considerable money to acquire.
Pelinka has a lot to prove this summer, but it's the deal he negotiated with Reaves that made it possible for the Lakers to have flexibility in the first place.
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