The performance in recent weeks of L.A. wing Austin Reaves—who was averaging 17.8 points and 6.0 assists since February 28 heading into Sunday’s game—has brought new interest to the prospect of his free agency, as well as some hand-wringing among Lakers enthusiasts about the possibility of history repeating.
Remember, it was two years ago that a slight haggle over money left the door open for Lakers guard Alex Caruso to bolt to Chicago, and it was just one year ago that a shrewd and inexpensive signing led to a career season for guard Malik Monk, which made him too expensive for the Lakers to re-sign. Back-to-back years, then, saw valuable role players ditch the purple-and-gold.
There is good news, though: Around the league, there is little expectation that Reaves follows suit and punches a ticket out of Lakerland.
“No, it would be a shock if they let him leave,” one Western Conference executive told Heavy Sports. “There is not going to be a crazy offer for him out there for, one thing. You could imagine a team like Orlando making a push for him, or San Antonio, someone like that. But they’re not going to do anything crazy. Reaves is a good player, a solid all-around player, and he’ll get a sizable offer but he has flaws and you’re not going to break the bank for him.”
Austin Reaves on MVP chants: “Obviously not an MVP caliber player. Those guys are really good… But for them to do that is special and means a lot to me. So, you know, shout out Laker Nation.”
Reaves: ‘I Wanna Make as Much Money as I Can’
For his part, Reaves was clear that finances will be the main thrust behind any decision he makes this summer when free agency hits.
As he said on the podcast Point Forward this week:
I would like to be here. It’s the NBA though, it’s a business at the end of the day. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t talented enough to come into the league at 18 or 19 years old, so a couple contracts behind someone that’s a one-and-done. Anybody that says we don’t play the game for money, to me, is lying. I feel like, if you wasn’t getting paid, you wouldn’t be here doing it. Obviously, everybody loves the game, but I wanna make as much money as I can and be as successful as I can, no matter where it’s at.
Under NBA rules, the Lakers can offer Reaves a deal that starts around $10 million per year, just about a full mid-level exception. While his numbers have been good—12.3 points on 51.2% shooting and 37.8% 3-point shooting—Reaves is still only a 24-year-old second-year player. And the Lakers have the right to match any offer for him.
A team could backload a deal for Reaves and make it difficult on the Lakers to keep him. But that is a longshot.
“I don’t see a team looking to do that,” an Eastern Conference GM said. “How much are you going to backload it? Who is going to want to take that risk? How many backloaded deals have ever worked out, anyway?”
The GM rattled off some of the notable backloaded-contract failures—the Rockets’ signings of Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin for $25 million each in 2012, the Nets’ signing of Tyler Johnson for $50 million in 2016, which Miami matched. All three cases ended badly.
“There’s a reason you don’t see people giving out those deals,” the GM said.
Lakers Awash in Free Agents
Still, Reaves will get a considerable raise this summer, even if it does not require an outside offer to get there. The Lakers can pay Reaves for up to four years (but the deal must be at least two years, though the second can be non-guaranteed). A three-year deal in the range of $35 million is the consensus, with an option on the third year.
If someone seeks to pay Reaves more, expect the Lakers to match it. They spent the trade deadline reconfiguring the roster to highlight players in the 23-to-27-year-old range, and Reaves is in the thick of that group.
Several of them—Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, Reaves—can be free agents this summer. The Lakers are expected to keep most, if not all, of their impending free agents.
“It will be a good summer to be a Laker free agent,” the executive said. “They’re going to be looking to keep everyone in the fold. They made a lot of mistakes the last few years, letting guys go and trying to overhaul everything every summer. They’re not going to make those mistakes again.”
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Lakers Free-Agent Austin Reaves Headed for ‘Sizable’ Contract Offer: NBA Execs