Getty Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Austin Reaves is returning to the Los Angeles Lakers and the former undrafted free agent couldn’t be happier.
Reaves was a restricted free agent and signed a four-year, $56 million extension with the Lakers. It was the maximum allowed and the Lakers made it clear to other teams around the league that they would have matched any deal that came in for Reaves.
It’s been quite the journey for Reaves, who spent time with Wichita State and Oklahoma in college before landing with the Lakers. He took advantage of every opportunity at the NBA level and earned his spot in the rotation, becoming a key player for the Lakers last season.
Reaves celebrated the signing with an epic highlight video, which showed his path with the Lakers and going against some of the best players in the league like Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Golden State Warriors sensation Stephen Curry. He even included his meme-worthy moment with LeBron James, which shows the four-time MVP giving in Reaves some direction, bringing about a puzzled response.
But the caption of the post might have been the most important. Reaves captioned the video “Laker for life,” showing his loyalty to the franchise.
Lakers Heaped Praise on Austin Reaves After Breakout Year
Reaves averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds last season. He shot 52.9 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from deep, also taking on more of a ball-handling role for LA. The Lakers recognized Reaves’ growth and the 25-year-old will now have a chance to take the next step.
“Austin in particular had an incredible year. I think he defines really what’s at the heart of playing for the Lakers,” general manager Rob Pelinka said in May. “He’s a selfless team-first guy, he lives in the gym, he loves the big moment, he’s been able to meet the big moment. I think he’s a guy that regardless of what his deal is, I don’t think it’s going to change him as a person and we’ll hang our hat on guys like that. That compete love the game, love their teammates. I think we’re proud to have him as part of this franchise.”
Reaves could have been offered nearly $100 million by a team in free agency if they really wanted to push the Lakers to make a decision. But for Reaves, the plan was always to stay with the Lakers.
“I would love to be here my whole career,” Reaves told ESPN in April. “Just the way that the fans treat me, the love they have for me, as an undrafted player, it’s kind of like they raised me type of vibe. … It feels like it’s meant to be. It feels like this all happened for a reason and this is where I should be.”
Lakers Bring Back All Their Key Pieces
The Lakers’ goal for free agency was to bring back the majority of their core after making a strong run in the second half of the year with a new-look roster. They got Reaves but also retained D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt.
The Western Conference is going to be stacked next season and teams like the Phoenix Suns have gone all-in on putting together star-laden rosters. That hasn’t swayed the Lakers’ plans.
“I think we believe in the proof of concept of this group, and we saw defensively what we were able to do to finish the season out, and I think defense and rebounding wins championships … We want to lean into that,” Pelinka said prior to free agency. “I think if there’s ways we can improve the roster, of course we’re going to do that. I think probably less focus of, ‘Hey, what is Team X or Team Y doing?’ And more focus on, ‘How can we optimize us?'”
The Lakers did make some key additions. Taurean Prince, Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish are all new faces for the Lakers.