• Austin Reaves is coming off a breakout season with the Lakers
• He was expected to be in the running for $100 million from a team like the Spurs, but ultimately didn’t get an offer sheet and re-signed with the Lakers
• Reaves admitted he did wonder how playing alongside Victor Wembanyama would be
The Los Angeles Lakers could have been in trouble this summer as Austin Reaves entered free agency. He was a restricted free agent and was going to be back with the Lakers even if a team offered $100 million, but getting him for four years, $56 million is one hell of a bargain for the Lakers.
The Spurs were rumored to be the $100 million team for Reaves, with the Lakers guard discussing how playing alongside Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio intrigued him.
(Start at 3:56)
”You know you hear things, and obviously with Wembanyama, like, you know so much upside with him, you know, your mind kind of just wonders into that basketball world what that would be like.”
Wembanyama was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2023 NBA Draft and is expected to be the best prospect since LeBron James. Given the Spurs will be building a team around Wembanyama over the long run, Reaves would have been a very strong first piece to add.
Reaves averaged 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists last season, and would get a lot of freedom in San Antonio as their primary guard. But he wouldn’t have the opportunity to win a title next year, as the Lakers are currently among the title favorites.
Austin Reaves Knew He’d Be On The Lakers For 2023-24
Restricted free agency rules meant that Reaves could have signed a contract with any team with the Lakers having matching rights. While he was upset that he didn’t get the $100 million payday that could have been on the table, he is happy with his fit with the organization and living in the city.
“I didn’t think that there was any way that the Lakers didn’t match whatever was offered. They pretty much made it pretty clear that they would match whatever. At the end of the day, I wanted to be in L.A. I love it out here, love the organization, the fans. Obviously, I wish that I could’ve got as much money as possible, but like I said, fit and opportunity, here in L.A. was really what we wanted and really where we wanted to be.”
The Lakers offered Reaves the biggest contract they could, also signing Jarred Vanderbilt to a max contract. Both were second-round picks and could not fetch a higher salary with their home team.
The Spurs could have offered Reaves $100 million with a back-loaded contract, but it would have tied up their cap space until the Lakers decided to match. As a result, there really wasn’t a point in doing so for San Antonio.
Austin Reaves’ Relationship With LeBron James
Everyone can see that LeBron loves playing with Reaves, and the third-year guard is at his best when he’s sharing the floor with James. He now knows that James has full trust in him on the court, referring to a moment in the playoffs in Game 1 against the Grizzlies that made him confident in that.
“In the playoffs, Game 1 against Memphis. When I had a really good fourth quarter… I was on the left side, and I just meant to run the floor… me going to running the floor, and I hear LeBron yell ‘AR, come back’, and he just tosses me the ball… come down hit the three… from that point forward, I could tell the trust level was even more than what I knew it was at that point.”
Reaves averaged 21.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in the Lakers’ final series of the playoffs, a sweep loss to the Nuggets. His numbers show he could be the Lakers third star this season, and he will be hoping to solidify himself in that role.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
