Free agent guard Austin Reaves has made it clear that he plans to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that took a chance on him in 2021 after he went undrafted. Reaves hopes that fellow free agent LeBron James also re-signs with the Purple & Gold so their Big 3 alongside Luka Doncic can stay in tact.
Speaking to TMZ Sports at LAX on Saturday, Reaves was asked if he wanted the Lakers to re-sign James. He responded with a definitive “yeah” and added, “run it back.”
When asked what kind of free agents the Lakers should pursue to surround their trio of himself, Doncic and James, Reaves had a rather blunt answer.
“I don’t know. I don’t get into all that. I’ve got to sign first. [I’m] a free agent.”
Austin Reaves Free Agency
Reaves will reportedly decline his $14.9M player option before the June 29 deadline and become an unrestricted free agent. Per multiple insiders, teams like the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks have expressed interest in trying to pry him away from the Lakers.
While the Lakers can ink Reaves to a five-year max deal worth $241M, other teams can offer him a four-year, $178M contract. Reaves has previously hinted that he would be willing to take a pay cut to stay with the Lakers after he declined a four-year, $89 million extension last year.
“Even though the other extension (four-year, $89 million) was turned down, that doesn’t mean that I’m trying to go get a f—ing gigantic number that don’t make sense,” Reaves told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin last November.
“I want to be here, I want to win. I want to do everything that can help this organization be better. So I don’t try to think about those things.”
Lakers Free Agency
Lakers front-office boss Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick both made it clear in their exit interviews earlier this month that re-signing Reaves was a top priority.
“He started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker,” Pelinka said of Reaves. “And we feel the same way. We want his odyssey to continue to unfold in the purple and gold. There’s rules and timing to all of that, but I think both sides have made it abundantly clear that we want to work something out where he continues his prolific career here.”
ESPN’s front-office insider Bobby Marks has predicted that the Lakers and Reaves will agree to a four-year,$155M deal, rather than the five-year, $241M max deal.
“There is a trade-off on the Reaves contract. The $41.2 million salary in the first year is the maximum allowed,” Marks wrote.
“But to preserve cap space in 2027-28, the salary declines to $38 million and then remains flat in years 3 and 4. Due to Reaves’ $20.9 million cap hold, the Lakers can use their available cap room first and then sign Reaves to a new contract even if it exceeds the salary cap.”
Besides Reaves and James, the Lakers will have to deal with the free agency of key rotiational pieces like Marcus Smart (player option), Deandre Ayton (player option), Luke Kennard (UFA) and Jaxson Hayes.
Austin Reaves Breaks Silence on Lakers Free Agency, LeBron James