After the Lakers’ season came to an end, two of their top three scoring options became unrestricted free agents. Austin Reaves and LeBron James’ futures with the team remain uncertain as the 27-year-old mulls over his career in Los Angeles while the 41-year-old decides on his future in the league.
According to reports, Reaves is expected to decline his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27. The way he has spoken about his time in Los Angeles in the past, saying he plans to retire there, has given the impression that he will negotiate his future with the Lakers’ front office in good faith, that he expects to get the money he feels he deserves.
Here’s a look at the best-case scenarios for Reaves to help him gauge the gravity of his decisions. The best-case scenarios for him in either case would ofcourse be to get the max contract.
If he stays with the Lakers, considering they have his bird rights, they could offer him a maximum five-year, $239,250,000 deal, according to Spotrac. But if the 27-year-old guard decides to leave the Lakers, he could get the max offer of a four-year, $177,375,000 deal.
Therefore, if Reaves decides to leave the Lakers, he could be leaving $61,875,000 on the table or even more. However, Rob Pelinka seemed confident that both sides would eventually reach an agreement.
“I think both sides have made it abundantly clear that we want to work something out where he continues his prolific career here,” said Rob Pelinka when asked about Reaves’ future with the team at the Lakers’ exit interviews for the season.
The NBA fans, however, do not think that Reaves has done enough to command approximately $47 million per year on average for how he has performed with the team.
“If we give this man that contract, I’m out.. I don’t give a damn. He averages 20+; he’s terrible defensively. I mean awful!”
“47 milly for getting cooked every game? Reaves is insane.”
“Lakers and LeBron played better when Austin Reaves was hurt. The Lakers wouldn’t have been swept if AR sat out the OKC series. My opinion. If the Lakers re-sign Reaves, LeBron should leave.”
“Nobody will be dumb enough to give Austin Reaves $177M. So why would the Lakers pay him $239M? I would pay Ajay Mitchell $239M before I pay Austin a dime. We don’t need traffic cones on defense next to Luka.”
Various such reactions flooded social media as fans voiced their concerns over giving Reaves a max extension. If giving Reaves the extension was their only concern this offseason, maybe they would even consider giving him the max contract. But they also need to keep enough cap space to make a compelling offer to LeBron James to stay in Los Angeles.
But after the way he performed against the Thunder in the playoffs, which apparently exposed him as a defensive liability, the fans feel he may not be the best second option to go all in on. However, reports suggest that Luka Doncic disagrees with them and wants the Lakers to retain Austin Reaves, even in potential talks to get a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Therefore, this contract negotiation could be the tipping point that begins the offseason work of reshaping the future of the Lakers. It will be interesting to see what the Lakers’ front office offers him eventually.
