The Los Angeles Lakers came into the summer of 2026 determined to accomplish a couple of things. The first was to keep the bones of the team together, with the belief that the run of games in which they won 16 of 18 down the stretch was representative of what this team can be at its best. The second was to add one major piece–preferably a center–and improve the overall depth and talent on the roster. On Wednesday, they checked off one major box on their summer wish list, signing star guard Austin Reaves to a new contract and keeping him from hitting free agency.
The deal did not run the full five years the Lakers could have offered to Reaves, but it did come in at a max number–$185 million over four years, the most in NBA history for an undrafted player
ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news on Twitter/X: “Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves intends to sign a four-year, $185 million maximum contract to return to the franchise, with a player option for the final season in 2029-30, sources tell ESPN. Reaves declined his $14.9M player option for the new max deal.”
Austin Reaves Just the Beginning
But Reaves is only one item on the Lakers checklist. The team is also trying to work out a deal with forward LeBron James to keep the team’s star trio–James, Reaves and Luka Doncic–intact.
The Lakers have a slew of other free agents but those will take a lesser priority. Luke Kennard and Rui Hachimura are iffy to return to L.A., and Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton have player options, with their returns uncertain. Backup center Jaxson Hayes is expected to re-sign.
But ultimately, the Lakers want to give the Doncic-James-Reaves trio a high-quality center. “They’ve made it clear that they still want a big target, they want a center who can defend and give them something offensively,” one NBA executive said.
Lakers Could Pursue Myles Turner
Myles Turner of the Bucks has emerged as a possibility on that front. One league executive pointed out that the Lakers have long had an eye on Turner, who averaged 11.9 points last year and had career lows in shooting (44%) and rebounding (5.3 per game).
But the feeling is that Milwaukee was a mess in general last year, and Turner could bounce back in a new setting. The Lakers still have their cap space intact, because they can execute the Reaves deal later. The Bucks could trade Turner into L.A’s cap space and gain salary relief.
“You send back (Jarred Vanderbilt) and a first-round pick, it is a clean fit to finally get that done,” the exec said. “Turner’s 30 and coming off a bad year, it would be hard to get more than one pick for him.”
Lakers Chasing ‘Big Target’ After Record-Breaking Austin Reaves Signing