In a rather shocking turn of events, the Lakers managed to flip Russell Westbrook and other assets into D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura. Together, these acquisitions helped turn the season around in LA and now it’s time to decide whether or not to keep that group intact.
Rob Pelinka will have plenty of challenges this summer and beyond, but former NBA GM Bobby Marks outlined some of their best options ahead of free agency…
“The two priorities are certainly Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, who are restricted free agents. I think the likelihood is that both are back in a Lakers uniform. My big question is what happens at the end of the week with Mo Bamba and Malik Beasley. There is a little bit of a sliver here that the Lakers could potentially create roughly $17M in room if they let [Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba] and D’Angelo Russell go… I would expect [Austin] Reaves and [Rui] Hachimura back.”
"I would expect Reaves and Hachimura back in a Lakers uniform."@BobbyMarks42 forecasts the Lakers' free agency moves ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/s0Zq77HZkU
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 27, 2023
The Lakers are set with LeBron James and Anthony Davis as their stars, but we saw in the playoffs this year that they’ll need more than that to get into the final stages of the postseason.
At the very least, they’ll have to bring back both Reaves and Hachimura if they want to avoid getting any worse and they might be prepared to offer over $100 million to get the job done.
Austin Reaves Is On Track For A Massive Contract Offer
After playing his way into the starting lineup and as the leader closer for the Lakers, it’s no surprise that Austin has become a highly coveted commodity in NBA circles and it will be costly to keep him in a Lakers jersey.
“The Lakers, league sources say, are a lock to match any offer on Reaves — even if someone signs Reaves to the maximum allowable offer sheet worth nearly $100 million over four years.”
Before Rob Pelinka decides anything else, he’ll have to figure out if he wants to run it back with the same team as last year. If so, then he must be prepared to spend big money. If not, he better have some names in mind as potential replacements.
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