The Los Angeles Lakers will have to pay Austin Reaves handsomely next summer if he continues to shine in a demanding offensive role.
The undrafted 6-foot-5 guard has been the Lakers’ savior while Luka Doncic and LeBron James recover from their setbacks, efficiently averaging 34.2 points per game on a Lakers squad that’s won two of their last three contests.
Reaves is also off to a historic start to his fifth NBA campaign, becoming the first Laker to score 92 combined points in back-to-back games and one of five Lakers to score 50+ points in a game.
Due to Reaves’ impressive contributions, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale is adamant that the Oklahoma product will receive a lucrative contract extension.
“Reaves holds a $14.9 million player option for the 2026-27 season. Spoiler alert: He's going to decline it,” Favale wrote Thursday. “Don't bother holding out hope for opt-in-and-extend scenarios, either. The Lakers would be capped at offering an additional four seasons and $93.4 million on top of his option.”
“A total commitment of five years and just over $108 million is no longer inside Reaves' ballpark. If he keeps this up, one of the nine other teams projected to have cap space might consider throwing him a max deal.
“Here's what those scenarios could look like based on current projections: (three-year max from the Lakers**:** $134.5 million, three-year max from another team**:** $130.7 million, four-year max from the Lakers: $185.9 million, four-year max from another team**:** $178.5 million, and five-year max from the Lakers: $240.7 million).”
Considering James is likely on the way out the door, the Lakers should prioritize building their future around Reaves and Doncic.
The two backcourt stars are under 30 years old and have plenty of high-level/meaningful basketball ahead of them, making it easy for Los Angeles to field a competitive roster around them once James exits the picture.
As long as Reaves doesn’t fall off a cliff as the season progresses, he should be able to join Doncic on the long-term investment list once free agency/the offseason arrives.
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