The Los Angeles Lakers perhaps felt months in advance that the 2026 offseason was going to be a period of major transition.
Funtime was over. One full season of Luka Doncic was in the books. It might have been O.K. for the Lakers to be a second round or earlier playoff exit. From here on, though, the expectation is a championship.
To meet those lofty standards, the Lakers had what some would call a revolutionary offseason. They went from parting ways with the league’s all-time leading scorer and a host of other veterans to adding nine new players. But in between LeBron James leaving and a bunch of new players arriving, L.A. had one huge priority.
Lakers Star Didn’t See Contract Offer Coming
The first offseason order of business? At one point, some thought it was signing James to a new contract. Instead, the Lakers all along had their sights set on making Austin Reaves the long-term co-star to Doncic. They wasted no time in not only meeting Reaves’ financial expectations but ensuring their 28-year-old star put pen to paper.
According to ESPN’s Vince Goodwill, Reaves was truly surprised by the Lakers’ four-year, $185 million offer.
“As for Reaves, once the Lakers blew him away with a max contract offer, he wasn’t going anywhere — he’d already turned down being drafted by Detroit under the Troy Weaver era to go the undrafted route and sign with the Lakers a few years ago,” Goodwill wrote.
In the end, Reaves took a bit of a financial haircut, with his deal coming out to roughly $180 million over four years. Reaves’ sacrifice is expected to help the Lakers land a potential star next summer using the team’s non-taxpayer midlevel exception.
Even with the roughly $5 million cut, Reaves signed the richest deal of any undrafted player in NBA history. The five-year NBA veteran joined the Lakers practice squad after his name wasn’t called in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Reaves Seems Ready to Meet — or Exceed — Expectations
It is fair to say that Reaves may be under the hottest spotlight of any secondary star in the NBA this season. Part of the reason is that he plays for the Lakers; the other is that he is the teammate of Doncic, a consensus top-five player in the league who is expected to lead his team to the NBA Finals.
Reaves is coming off his best season as a pro, averaging over 23 points per game while shooting an efficient 49 percent from the floor. The 28-year-old guard especially excelled when he was the clear-cut second option, which he was to start last season while James was sidelined with sciatica.
There have been some rumblings that Reaves bulked up this offseason. While Reaves’ physique has never been a major talking point, unlike Doncic’s at times, his supposed weight gain could help him take the kind of leap the Lakers need to reach their first NBA Finals since 2020.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have played three of five preseason games, recording a 2-1 record. Reaves played his first game of the season Thursday night after missing the first two tune-up games with a minor ailment.
Lakers ‘Blew Away’ 5-Year NBA Veteran With Massive $185M Max Contract Offer