The Los Angeles Lakers had two main goals this offseason. One of those was to bring in a new center and the other was to re-sign guard Austin Reaves on a new deal. The front office accomplished both of those with the first move of the summer being agreeing to a new four-year, $185 million deal with the guard.
Reaves has spent his entire five year career with the Lakers, growing into one of the best young guards in the league and pairing extremely well with superstar Luka Doncic. And while there were some questions about whether he would be back in purple and gold, the hope for Reaves was always to remain with the Lakers.
“That was the main goal at the start of everything was to continue my career with the Lakers and whatever that looked like,” Reaves told Keith Jouganatos of KRCR Channel 7. “But as far as the contract, basketball, I mean it’s all great but at the end of the day I love basketball and I wanna compete and I wanna win.”
Reaves himself admitted to having multiple times this offseason where he doubted he would be coming back. The negotiations between the Lakers and his representation did not always go well and they were not receiving the offers they hoped to see from the front office.
But it was always known that Reaves wanted to remain in L.A. as he had spoken about it on numerous occasions well before his free agency began. And in the end, he and the Lakers were ultimately able to get what they wanted which was a long-term deal to stay with the franchise.
Now the focus for Reaves is on what’s most important, which is competing and winning with the Lakers. He may currently be participating in the American Century Championship Celebrity Golf Tournament for the third consecutive year, but make no mistake Reaves is an absolute competitor who wants to win at the highest level and he will be ready to help lead this Lakers team for the 2026-27 season and beyond.
Austin Reaves motivated to win a championship alongside Luka Doncic
Reaves and Doncic formed the highest scoring duo in the NBA last year and the two also developed an excellent friendship and brotherhood in their first full season together. And now that he has his new contract locked in, Reaves is motivated to win a championship alongside Doncic.
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