- The San Antonio Spurs almost gave Austin Reaves an offer sheet worth $21 million per year in free agency
- They ultimately decided not to go through with it because of the Lakers’ stance to match any offer he got
- Austin Reaves could have earned $7 million per year more than his current contract if it had happened
The Los Angeles Lakers have received widespread praise for the decisions they made in free agency this year, and a large part of that was being able to re-sign Austin Reaves on a 4-year deal worth $56 million.
Reaves broke out in the playoffs last season, averaging 16.9 points per game as the Lakers made it to the Conference Finals. And it was widely expected that he would get a bigger contract from another team. It didn’t happen that way, but recent reports suggest that one team came close.
The Spurs considered offering Reaves a restricted free agency sheet worth $21 million per season, league sources told HoopsHype,” Michael Scotto wrote.
“Ultimately, however, the Spurs were scared off by the widespread belief that the Lakers would match any offer sheet for Reaves and chose to preserve cap space as a salary dump destination for future draft pick compensation.”
Reaves’ current contract with the Lakers is worth $14 million per year, so that would have been $7 million more per year for him. The Lakers had already made it clear that they would match any offer too, which means he could have been paid more if the Spurs went through with it.
Austin Reaves Said He Considered The San Antonio Spurs In Free Agency
Austin Reaves is 24 years old, and if he can cement his place in the starting five, which looks likely, has a bright future ahead of him in the NBA. It will undoubtedly be better with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he did reveal that he considered the San Antonio Spurs as well as Houston Rockets when talks were ongoing in free agency.
“I really wanted to be in L.A. the whole time,” Reaves said. “There were a couple of situations that were close, but like I said, I really wanted to be in L.A. L.A. feels like home to me, so that’s really where I wanted to be.”
“Houston, before Fred, and then San Antonio,” Reaves said about teams that were on his radar.
It does feel just right that Reaves is back in Los Angeles, he seems tailor-made for the organization. With the roster around Anthony Davis and LeBron James looking deep once again, the future seems bright for Reaves and the Lakers.
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