In what was a long and chaotic season for the Los Angeles Lakers, the ascension of Austin Reaves was easily one of the biggest bright spots for the entire team. Reaves was an undrafted player who came in with practically no expectations, but his strong play on offense and reliability during the playoffs made him a valuable member of the team, and he is considered by many to be the Lakers’ third-best player.
Unfortunately for the Lakeshow, Reaves is set to be a restricted free agent this summer, and he’s going to get the bag. According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, the San Antonio Spurs have become the latest team rumored to have an interest in Reaves.
“I think the Lakers are going to retain him,” said Buha via HoopsHype. “Obviously, their preference would be to sign him to the four-year, $54 million deal. I’ve heard that there are going to be multiple suitors out there in talking with people around the league. You mentioned Orlando and Houston. I’ve heard San Antonio could be a dark horse team that will try to poach Austin from the Lakers.”
Recent reports indicate that Austin could get up to $100 million offers from teams this summer, and the Lakers have (so far) shown a willingness to match any offer that comes.
“The Lakers are going to match any contract offer sheet that he signs up to that $100 million,” said Buha. “The Lakers view him as the third-best player on this team if you look at the regular season and postseason he had. He stepped up big time and was basically an 18-5-5 guy with near 50-40-90 shooting splits as a starter for them. There were several factors as to why the Lakers made that second-half run, but chief among them — and maybe the biggest factor overall — was Reaves’ ascension.”
In San Antonio, Reaves would be playing alongside the highly-touted prospect, Victor Wembanyama, in a new age for the Spurs. As a shooter, playmaker, and ball handler, it’s very likely he would play a significant role for the Spurs, but L.A. does not intent to let him go easily.
Austin Reaves’ Is The Top Priority For Lakers This Summer
After suffering a sweep against the Nuggets, it was clear that the Lakers still have a ways to go before they can call themselves the best in the West. Despite putting up a fight down the stretch of the series, the Lakers had no answers for Joker, and they aren’t going to find any this summer.
But if Austin can take another leap and shoulder more of a load around LeBron and AD, it could be the boost this team needs to finally make another push for the title. That is why Rob Pelinka must do everything he can to make sure Reaves is a Laker by the start of next season.
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