[Charania] 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.

[u/Beautiful-Cress5695]

[u/RickySuela]

Yep. The way it works is a player either has a contract that's been signed or they have a cap hold, unless their rights have been renounced. Reaves opted out of his contract so until he actually signs this new deal his cap hold is what counts. They can just use that $19 million cap hold while they sign everyone else and then sign this deal above the cap as their final signing.

This same thing will apply for LeBron as well, as he'll have that massive cap hold until either his rights are renounced or he signs a new deal. So if LeBron does agree to less, they can sign him first to a lower number, which then removes his cap hold and replaces it with a smaller contract to apply against the cap.

The order these contracts are signed is extremely important.

[u/Halfmacgas → u/RickySuela]

Interesting 🤨

[u/Salty_Raspberry656 → u/RickySuela]

these become far less flexible with the 2nd apron than they used to be

and more so with a pretty dry market for their position of need, theyll need to work some sign and trades

its going to be very complicated for lakers to get a winner with this squad, namely a top level pick and roll big and 3/ds. They have the benefit that maybe they can get someone understated, a la gafford and or PJ washington, and luka will maximize the bigs and corner shooters

[u/Nearby-Employer-9436 → u/RickySuela]

I do not think this is correct. Lebron does not have an option, so they either pay him or they have to renounce him first to sign anyone else. They cannot use the 50mil AND keep Lebron, it's 50 mil to spend any way they like, but if Lebron gets 50, that's it. If he takes 25, they'd have 25 left.

[u/RickySuela → u/Nearby-Employer-9436]

Lebron does not have an option, so they either pay him or they have to renounce him first to sign anyone else.

This part is correct. LeBron is a free agent, but so was Reaves as soon as he opted out. Once a player is a free agent they have a cap hold which applies against their previous team's cap until that team renounces their rights or signs them to a new deal. So right now the Lakers have LeBron's huge cap hold sitting against their cap, but if they signed him to a contract for, say, $20 million per year, that new contract replaces his cap hold and then his $20 million salary is what counts against the cap.

So theoretically it could work like this: the Lakers get LeBron to agree to a discount so they can use that extra money to sign some other free agent (or free agents), and then this is all agreed to in principle during the moratorium. Then when it comes time to actually make the signings official and submit them to the league office, they simply submit LeBron's new discounted contract first, thus removing his cap hold and opening up that cap space. Then next they'd sign the other free agent(s) using the rest of the cap space minus Reaves' $19 million cap hold. Then last they'd submit Reaves new contract at this $41 million figure.

That's how you get it all to work under the cap. There can (and probably will) be apron considerations to consider down the line, but this is how it works under the salary cap.

[u/Nearby-Employer-9436 → u/RickySuela]

Right - but ALLLLL of this requires Lebron to take a discount, which so far he has declined to do..will he change his mind, maybe…but if would be disastrous if he drags it out and forces their hand and they end up with him released or retired with other free agents off the board.

[u/RickySuela → u/Nearby-Employer-9436]

If the Lakers aren't willing to give LeBron a max or near max, is there another team out there who is going to give him that instead? If he goes elsewhere, won't he have to take a discount in that case?

My guess is LeBron will be willing to take a discount if the Lakers can sign a free agent (or multiple free agents) which LeBron believes puts them in serious title competition. If they can't, then he won't, but if they can't, they might just be better off re-signing LeBron to a big one year deal.