Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been on a tear to start the season, making up for the losses of Luka Doncic and LeBron James by averaging 34.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 10.0 assists through five times.
And Reaves is doing it at the perfect time as he can opt out of the final year of his contract next offseason and test unrestricted free agency. He is expected to do exactly that as the Lakers offered him a max contract extension this past offseason, which he understandably declined as it could only be for four years and $94 million.
If Reaves is a free agent, he will have the ability to make significantly more from the Lakers or elsewhere. And according to Tim Bontempts and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the 27-year-old is expected to command at least $30 million annually in his next deal:
“He’s always been a very good player, but now he’s in a role where he can have the ball and generate a lot of offense,” a West executive of Reaves. “Someone is going to pay him a lot of money next summer.”
The belief around the league is that $30 million per year is the absolute baseline for Reaves’ services. (There are currently 59 NBA players making at least that much.)
Another executive theorized that with Reaves being able to get as much as four years and roughly $180 million from another team in free agency, that a five-year deal for more total dollars could be a good compromise to get a deal done to keep Reaves in L.A.
“I don’t think he’s going to quite keep up this pace because LeBron will take away touches,” the executive said, “but he is good and the Lakers intend to keep him and he intends to stay, so my guess is it gets done.”
If Reaves can continue playing at or near the level he has to begin the season then $30 million a year can easily turn into a full max of $40-plus million.
A number of teams project to have cap space next summer and could use a lead-guard, which Reaves has shown he is capable of in the absence of his two co-stars.
Austin Reaves wants to remain with Lakers long-term
One thing working in the Lakers’ favor those when it comes to Austin Reaves’ free agency is that he has already made it clear he has no desire to leave the organization, and that feeling appears to be mutual.
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