The Los Angeles face a busy if not dramatic offseason following their playoff exit at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Along with addressing the future of LeBron James, the Lakers also expect star guard Austin Reaves to decline his player option and enter unrestricted free agency in search of a lucrative new contract.
The Lakers know it will be an expensive endeavor to retain Reaves after signing franchise player Luka Doncic to a three-year, $165 million extension last August. Now, president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka knows just how expensive it will be to bring back Reaves after the Arkansas native's breakthrough season.
MORE: Why Lakers, Luka Doncic are running out of time already amid playoff exit
Once Reaves declines his $14.9 million player option, he can re-sign with the Lakers on a mammoth five-year, $239 million contract.
If the Lakers don't want to dole out the dough and can't convince Reaves to take a discount, he can join another team on a four-year, $177 million contract.
Austin Reaves' Max Contract Possibilities
Re-Sign with the #Lakers
5-years, $239,250,000
Sign Elsewhere
4-years, $177,375,000
— Spotrac (@spotrac) May 12, 2026
Reaves and his agent now know that leaving the Lakers would mean leaving as much as $62 million on the table. If there's any wiggle room in negotiations, the Lakers might want to find it as they look to surround Doncic with players more to his liking next year.
But as it stands, there is little reason for Reaves and the Lakers to separate, especially after Reaves averaged 23.3 points and 5.5 assists per game on 49 percent shooting -- albeit in only 51 games -- this season.
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