As the Lakers cling to playoff hopes, the play of an unlikely hero is keeping their season alive.
This season, 24-year-old Austin Reaves has emerged as a major piece for the Lakeshow and his string of dominant play recently has kept them afloat without LeBron James.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, his future is uncertain as a restricted free agent this summer. While the Lakers can match any offer he receives, Reaves could be on a different team next season depending on how much they are willing to pay.
“Anybody that says we don’t play the game for money is lying,” said Reaves on the Point Forward podcast. “I want to make as much money as I can and be as successful as I can no matter where it’s at.”
Austin Reaves says he’d like to stay with the Lakers but the NBA is a business
“Anybody that says we don’t play the game for money is lying… I want to make as much money as I can and be as successful as I can no matter where it’s at.”
(Via @pointforward ) pic.twitter.com/b5PqSg2IPa
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 24, 2023
You can’t blame Reaves for chasing the bag, especially since it could potentially net him over $100 million. For the Lakers, however, losing Reaves would be a significant blow to their title aspirations next season and beyond.
Will Reaves Leave The Lakers?
While Reaves’ play has been a great story for the Lakers, it puts them in a difficult situation this summer. They will have to decide whether Reaves is worth paying to keep around or if they’re better off spending the money on someone else.
Cleary, Reaves is going to go wherever he can get the best deal.
“There are going to be multiple suitors for Reaves,” reported Jovan Buha. “He’s played everything from point guard to small forward. He can defend multiple positions and is a smart, high-IQ basketball player. He was a 50-40-90 guy for the early part of the season. He’s an efficient player and someone that Darvin Ham has referred to as a Swiss Army knife this season. He can play on or off the ball. This is kind of lining up to potentially be another Alex Caruso situation where he wants to be there, and the Lakers want to retain him, but if they try to get a little too cute with the offer or negotiation, I could see him potentially leaving and going somewhere where he’s going to get the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception.”
As always, the Lakers will go as far as LeBron and AD take them. This season, that hasn’t been very far but there’s still time to change that. Thanks to Austin Reaves, and other role-players, the Lakers haven’t looked this good in a long time and that’s why it’s more important than ever to retain the guys who have stepped up for them.
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