Attached to Austin Reaves‘ star turn this season is the big question mark about his future with the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Reaves is eligible to sign a four-year, $89.2 million extension this summer, which would replace his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27 with Year 1 of the extension. If he signs that extension, his earnings will essentially be $128.3 million spread over seven years.
Reaves is currently in the second season of a four-year, $54 million deal he signed in the summer of 2022. He has already outplayed that contract which is considered as one of the best-value contracts in the NBA.
McMenamin added that Reaves could also wait until the summer of 2026 when he would be eligible for a four-year, $98 million extension, or opt out of the final year of his contract, become an unrestricted free agent and be eligible for 25% of whatever the salary cap is set at for 2026-27.
For the 2025-26 season, the projected salary cap is $154.6 million, a 10% increase from this season, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Twenty-five percent of next year’s salary cap is around $38.7 million.
With the salary cap expected to rise again in the 2026-27 season, Reaves could potentially fetch more than $40 million in starting salary if he holds out, continues his star ascent and enters unrestricted free agency after next season. He will be 28 by then, at the prime of his career.
But that option also comes with risk. If he suffers a career-altering injury in the final year of his current contract, the Lakers or any other team might have to pause on giving him a large contract.
Lakers Rising Star Expected to Decline Extension Offer
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Reaves is expected to decline an extension offer from the Lakers this offseason and will opt out after next season.
“How I expect this to play out is the Lakers will make their contract extension offer to Austin on July 6 or sometime around then and they will offer him about four years, $88 million-ish to 90 million,” The Athletic’s Lakers beat reporter said on his podcast “Buha’s Block” on Feb. 25. “Somewhere in that range, which if you average that out is about 22-23 million per year on an annual basis that is below Austin’s market value.
Over his last 15 games, Reaves averaged 25.5 points on 51/42/94 shooting split, 5.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals. For the season, Reaves is averaging 20.2 points on a 46/37/88 shooting split, 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
Will Austin Reaves Leave the Lakers?
The Lakers highly value Reaves as their homegrown star.
“I suspect the Lakers will make the formal offer of an extension and say, ‘Hey, this is the most we can offer. We’d love for you to sign this and remain a Laker for the foreseeable future’ I’d expect Austin to decline that and not sign that extension and then opt out after the 2025-26 season,” Buha continued. “He’s got a player option for 2026-27.”
But Buha was quick to add Reaves will try to remain with the team that believed in him and gave him his NBA shot.
“So, I think in that 2026 summer, he will opt out,” Buha added. “He will test free agency, and then he will try to remain a Laker long-term, but it’s gonna come down to what type of contract they offer him. He’s a guy who should be making at least $27-28+ million if not $30+ million moving forward.”
Lakers Extension or Enter Free Agency: How Much Austin Reaves Can Get?