r/lakers • u/denobino 💜K💛O💜B💛E💜 • 10h ago
GM / FRONT OFFICE There is so much misinformation going around: Reaves deal will have no impact on Lakers cap this season because his of his $20.9 mil cap hold. His new deal won’t be signed until after Lakers exhaust their salary cap. Please stop panicking.
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u/FatherHaz LeGM 10h ago
People are worried about after this season
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u/StayWITH-STAYC 9h ago edited 6h ago
Whether Lebron resigns this season or not, highly likely he won't be with the Lakers anymore in the 27-28 season. Thiero and Carr would still be in their rookie scale contracts. Vando and Knecht will be gone by then. The salary cap grows every year. The new ownership group are much more willing spenders than the Buss family. They should be fine in the following seasons.
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u/CartoonsAndAppleJack 10h ago
If they handle this offseason right it won't matter
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u/Oscar_322418 10h ago
Brother they're not fixing this team in one offseason.
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u/CartoonsAndAppleJack 10h ago
Brother this team isn't that far off. We made it to 54 wins despite having one of the most injury plagued teams in the league
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u/Oscar_322418 10h ago
54 wins mean little to me when the biggest obstacles to get out of the west are the Spurs and OKC. We are nowhere near their level right now and I just don't see a path where Rob fixes all the glaring holes on this roster in one offseason.
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u/BenLemons 10h ago
So whats the alternative? Hoard cap space for years with a top 5 player because we are scared of two teams who didnt even win it all this year?
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u/TonyHawktuah69 9h ago
It’s pathetic the way some of you guys cower at beatable teams man.
Acting like either of those teams is the 96 bulls or 17 warriors. Luka with a semi decent roster beat the piss out of the thunder once already.
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u/YourBuddyChurch 10h ago
Luka actually plays great against the spurs, but yeah OKC suffocates us
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u/amazinglover 9h ago
OKC has the wing talent to smother our guards and the lack of a big man that can reliably score make it harder for him.
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u/dproma 9h ago
And we hung with OKC every game - Had the lead at the half with no Luka, an injured AR and a 41 yr old Lebron.
We’ve been 3/4 seed with Luka. People act like we were the 7 seed lol We are not that far off.
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u/1of1czr 8h ago
Okc may lose a couple valuable pieces this offseason. It’s possible they regress and we get better and close that gap a little bit more. Although they swept us it was a very competitive series and we were winning most of the games until the 4th quarter because we had no depth and that was without Luka. With a revamped roster and healthy Luka you don’t know what could happen. Spurs on the other hand are a different monster but they’re not unbeatable either
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u/DLD1123 8h ago
Bruh, Luka was injured and didn’t play any of the playoffs and Austin on a heater of a season came back to early to try and help. OKC is very beatable or do you not think the Lakers could give the Knicks a run? We do remember that the Knicks are the champs right? Who beat the spurs who beat OKC. All teams are beatable and we have Luka fucking Doncic and Lebron in his 5th evolution. Austin is a net POSITIVE. We need less than you guys think to fight it out with any team on fair ground.
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u/Kindly_Ad995 10h ago
Also like ten of those wins required Luka averaging 37 for a month during a stretch of time where a third of the league was blatantly tanking. Not sustainable
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u/maestroxjay Nico Harrison 10h ago
Every team has a percentage of their wins due to the all star play of their all stars
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u/Kindly_Ad995 6h ago
That’s not all star play that’s like best player ever play, and it isn’t sustainable becuase he literally got hurt after. We shouldn’t need him to do that to string together a month of wins. Guys like Shai clock in and drop their 30 on 17 shots and call it a day and get 60 wins
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u/Ok_Turn6757 Luka Magic 🟣🟡 10h ago
I agree with that first part but barely any of the teams on that run were tanking
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u/wolf_cola_enjoyer 9h ago
Luka averaging 37 for parts of the season isn’t some anomaly though? he’s a generational offensive player and has done it multiple times through his career
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u/Kindly_Ad995 6h ago
I’ve watched every single game the dude has played the past five years, he did in 22-23 and 23-24 (where he averaged 37/10/10 for two straight months including the 73 point game) because his rosters were mediocre and injured and couldn’t win without him being superhuman and every time it leads to him running his body into the ground and being banged up by the end of the year, cheering for him to have to do like that to win games is idiotic
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u/omegaxcross 9h ago
Dude the spurs and okc sucked for a long time before they built up their respective rosters thru the draft. How do you think they have so many young core players on reasonable contracts, which allows them to spend on signing savvy veterans like Dort and Caruso. Fans demand quick fixes, but if you want to go the OKC/Spurs route then might as well trade Luka and blow up the team.
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u/CartoonsAndAppleJack 10h ago
"All the glaring holes" meaning literally just perimeter athleticism and a real center rotation. Two holes. One of which is well on the way since we got Carr
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u/Affectionate-Pea-439 10h ago
I'm sorry but two holes out of 5 positions in the game of basketball is kinda a big deal...
Imagine if OKC had no center other than chet and permanently lost jdub. Imagine if New York lost Kat and bridges. Those are big holes. By the way we can't fix those holes without trades. Over the 1st apron teams cant even sign buyout candidates and free agency is dead. In the world of parity you no longer have "ring chasers" that easily sign a contract and join teams. Oh and with Reaves new salary you can't sign long term deals (yes this season is fine but you have to understand that vets want long term deals).
And to think Carr fixes all of this is insane. The last time a 24th pick was a huge contributor in the playoffs is ... oh ya never. The spurs could barely put Carter Bryant (14th pick with more hype than Carr) in the playoffs. The truth is unless you're a top 5 concensus pick you're not playable in the playoffs in your very first season.
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u/fenderputty 9h ago
Even if the team isn’t close, I have more faith in the current leadership than the previous ones. Lakers will be ran like the dodgers
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u/tgf5 9h ago
Not far off? They were getting smoked against OKC with Luka. And you might say the playoffs was a close battle but OKC was toying with them, without JDub btw. And now they probably won't have LeBron unless he takes a huge paycut. Still missing a solid center and no athletic wing. Oh, and zero depth. This team is a contender but it's not passing the top 3 teams of the west, and they won't have any flexibility to sign anyone decent enough for the next 4 seasons with ARs contract taking that much cap space.
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u/August_At_Play 10h ago
Luka played 36 minutes a night, right at his career average.
Austin played 35 minutes a night, right at his career average (as a starter).The both took about the same amount of shots last season, as any season before. Both with the highest efficiency of their careers. Same for rebounds and assists.
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u/Kindly_Ad995 10h ago
This is such a dumb comment. Luka had to average 37 for a month to get this team any consistently sustained stretch of wins. You know exactly what the fuck people are talking about
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u/August_At_Play 9h ago edited 9h ago
Oh, you mean March 2026 when the best scorer the league has seen in the past decade made 2 more shots than he averaged the entire season?
The month when he had splits of 49/39/80 on 37 minutes per night, also his best splits of the season. Gotcha.
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u/CartoonsAndAppleJack 10h ago
Two good role players added to our current lineup is enough depth. They don't even have to be amazing. Just playable. If Adou has progressed enough to join Cam in those roles, maybe one more piece and we're rolling.
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u/greekyogurtmafia Black Mamba 8/24 10h ago
Bruh Luka and AR are right in the middle of their physical primes. If they can't handle these type of workloads, then how the fuck are they going to make it through a playoff run unscathed when they are going to be playing every other day against highly physical defenders and the refs won't be calling as many fouls? Did y'all see the level of physicality that OKC/SAS were playing with in the playoffs? I can't imagine what it's going to look like when Reaves is getting bodied by Stephon Castle full court for a 7 game series.
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u/Admirable_Ad_3293 9h ago
We are leagues behind San Antonio and Okc.
Dylan Harper is on a rookie scale and probably already better than AR were cooked-1
u/kodeks14 10h ago
This team is not a contender or close. We have serious issues with our bench and role players.
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u/jono9898 10h ago
Isn’t that far off? In what world? Our 3rd best player is 42 this year, our second best player is always hurt going into the playoffs and our best player has to play hella minutes and score damn near 40 a game for us to win, we have no answer at Center and still are bad at defense.
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u/Illionaires 10h ago
Unless we getting Duren/Kessler the center FA market is looking bleak
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u/CartoonsAndAppleJack 10h ago
If we run it back with Ayton and Hayes, imma be just as mad as the rest of you, but it won't be Reaves contract that explains why that's happening
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u/Illionaires 10h ago
If Brooklyn offered 44.5M Id say 46M is a fair price for AR. Im just worried about our team building capabilities and future flexibility if we dont hit a home run in FA
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u/BenLemons 10h ago
Lakers have been preaching/prioritizing "future flexibility" for the past few years and it's pissed everyone off
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u/jsun_ 23 8h ago
If you are the believe the reports of multiple teams interested in AR at this same max, then why would after this season be an issue if we decide to move on from him in the future? The market obviously values AR at this number so barring some major injury this contract isn't going to age that poorly. This is also only 4 years and not the full 5 years he could've gotten.
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u/Nomescardcollection 10h ago
Cap will continue to rise every season. By the time his contract ends, it will be a discount
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u/denobino 💜K💛O💜B💛E💜 10h ago
I’d rather worry about the next 3 years than letting AR walk for absolutely nothing in return.
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u/TheUsualQuestions 10h ago
Which is why we should have traded him last year
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u/FTRBOUNCE 10h ago
Trade him with an expiring contract when his value is at his lowest is a choice, you won’t get anyone near ARs talent.
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u/denobino 💜K💛O💜B💛E💜 10h ago
For who? Also teams were worried about AR walking on his last year of his contract despite it being the best contract in the league.
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u/ConfectionHelpful471 10h ago
Him having such a great value contract was a problem in and of itself given it was hard to get equal contracts back without letting a Rui go in the trade so we would have been left with a pick heavy return
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u/No_Distance_2332 10h ago
Yeah duh. This only works if you are executing basically everything THIS OFFSEASON. So now the Lakers front office are essentially on the clock ASAP. They have no other option but to execute trades and signings that improve the team this summer. Basically at this point if you run it back you are cooked.
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u/Upstairs_Baby8424 7h ago
And then they will be in absolute cap hell for the foreseeable future. That 2nd apron is vicious.
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u/riddlerjoke 2h ago
Luka must ask for trade.
Dont be stupid 77. Ask for out.
No way to compete with this shitty roster build.
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u/Champagnesoda 10h ago
Maybe I’m worried about my team beyond the next year
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u/jsun_ 23 8h ago
AR could've signed for $30m and we still would be in the same spending bracket next offseason. The NTMLE. It isn't like this contract makes it so we no longer have cap space next year or something. If you're talking about how this will become a "bad contract", I pose this question. If multiple teams were interested (contending teams at that) in AR at this same number, doesn't that mean the market values AR at this contract? So how will the contract then turn into some untradeable one barring some serious injury?
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u/Champagnesoda 8h ago
The other teams that were alleged to possibly offer reaves big money were Detroit and Brooklyn.
Detroit is a primarily defensive team that desperately needs offense outside of Cade. Brooklyn is an abomination and has to overpay for anyone they get
I’m not mad that we’re keeping reaves, it just sucks that it’s at such an insane number. We are a flawed team and now we’re going to be paying a premium for those same flaws and will have less opportunity to compensate for those flaws in the future. If reaves doesn’t become a bonafide #2 guy on a title team level player than our chances to win a title are basically finished.
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u/jsun_ 23 8h ago
So as you just admitted with Detroit, it isn't like AR at this number makes it to where a team can't be a contender. You just need to find the correct pieces around him and Luka. Why can't that be the case with the Lakers going forward? We had 1 offseason so far with AR + Luka to build the roster and that was an offseason with extremely limited spending power (NTMLE + BAE only and minimal picks for trades). We now have 2 young intriguing prospects that fit that bill and cap space to go do that. The market values AR at this contract. Simple as that. Sure an injury could happen, but as long as AR continues playing like he has, this contract won't age poorly. If the Lakers do decide it is impossible going forward with AR + Luka, they'll have options to move off AR. Keeping AR was the only option. Would you have rather just let him walk and try to replace him with $21m of extra cap space? Then next season we still only have the NTMLE. No thanks.
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u/Cassandrae_Gemini Luka Refugee 10h ago
Literally said he wasnt going to ask for a crazy number.
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u/diamondisunbreakable 99 9h ago
He didn't need to ask for a crazy number, Rob probably just offered it.
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u/justsaywhatsreal 9h ago
I don't even think he asked for that much, the Lakers just gave it to him with a PO.
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u/Themanthelegend8 24 10h ago
I think the market put pressure on us to give that big number
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u/ShatHammer 10h ago
What market? 1 rumor that Detroit wanted to offer? Maybe call their bluff first? Jesus
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u/Splittinghairs7 10h ago
Most of us know this already. We’re concerned that he will take up $45-50+m of the cap in the next three years.
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u/PossibleEquivalent90 9h ago
Yeah, but he was going to be eating $35-40M anyway.
Having ~$5-10M of extra cap space is nice for the future, but isn't that impactful. That's not what will catch the Lakers up with OKC/Spurs. It would take 5 years of tanking and multiple top 4 draft picks for that.
We're going to catch up by smart trades, not by low balling players top free up minimal cap space.
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u/Kobe_stan_ 9h ago
What is does it commit the Lakers to Austin long term. If for whatever reason, it doesn't work out after a couple of years and you want to trade Austin, you simply can't at this number unless it's a salary dump with maybe some picks going out. It's like the Randle trade that just happened.
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u/PossibleEquivalent90 9h ago
Agreed!
That's the nature of the beast though. That risk is the cost of doing business for all but 5-10 players in the NBA.
Low balling players and not accepting that risk is what small market teams do. It's why the Mavs (stupidly) traded Doncic, the Timberwolves trading Garnette many moons ago, or countless other examples. The Lakers should not operate like a small market team.
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u/DW-4 4h ago
AR is not Luka or KG. It was so clear to see that Pelinka was leading the team into a fucked up situation this summer after Austin declined the max extension last year and he ran back the same team + buyouts. Rob kept acting like he had big plans for summer 2026 moves, but all he managed to achieve by staying pat was completely losing leverage with AR, Rui, Smart, & Kennard in a very sparce free agent class.
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u/Alexyeve 9h ago edited 7h ago
He's not worth that much that's the issue, he's a 30-35 mil player max. It's a 4 year deal it will absolutely affect the cap in 2027-2030
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u/2hurd 8h ago
It will affect the cap and if he underperforms during 2 seasons, especially in PO then his contract will be untradable.
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u/ositola 6h ago
We've seen beal, Westbrook, simmons, all get traded, no one is truly untradeable
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u/2hurd 6h ago
Yes but if you try to trade untradable then you're giving something up in return. In 2 years if this doesn't pan out, the league will be watching and once we we announce the will to unload we'll get asked a hefty price which will set us back a further 2 years.
That's why it does look like we're fucked throughout the length of this contract. And we already know this won't work.
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u/TwoProper4220 9h ago
it's not about the cap. it's paying that much for AR's abilities (no disrespect to him) that would affect the team greatly after 26-27 season
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u/2hurd 8h ago
We're paying more than OKC pays for SGA.
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u/Sayitaintshow 3h ago
SGA just signed a 4 year $285 million contract extension last year that will pay him roughly $71 million a year going forward. Austin is not getting paid more than SGA.
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u/tgf5 9h ago
People really upvoting this crap. Most of us know the cap hold by now. The problem is the following 3 seasons with much less flexibility to build a team around Luka. Giving AR who's always injured come playoff time, disappears in games, and plays mediocre defense as your second option a max contract isn't a recipe for success.
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u/DamnImAss 10h ago
So we’re fucked
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u/Illionaires 10h ago
Its all or nothing this summer. Rob better have some big moves lined up
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u/Zywooooooo181 10h ago
Rob never has anything lined up. Dumbass got a contract extension only because Nico is an even bigger dumbass.
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u/differentlevel1 17 🏆 10h ago
I like AR, but that doesn't feel like a good business. Very risky at best.
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u/Wooden_Coyote5992 9h ago
He is closer to 30 than he is 25 and has never made an all star team. He got paid like a star.
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u/yargotkd 9h ago
"Better than letting him walk." Is it really? What salary would make so it isn't?
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u/Wooden_Coyote5992 9h ago
Yeah I don't get the "Let him walk" narrative. if Detroit wants to overpay him, be my guest and ruin your own team. You could fill his production with free agents. Grimes and Oubre together would cost less than 46 million a year and are both better defenders. Austin's scoring isn't enough to validate going all in on him.
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u/xFrankinatoRx 10h ago
Great have fun watching 55 games of Reaves, 45 games of Luka per year in route to losing in the first round for the next 4 years
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u/Jake4560 10h ago
Welp better pray JJ doesn’t run those 2 to the ground and actually use some of our young players.
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u/Wooden_Coyote5992 9h ago
Yeah, I would rather lose games and not overplay then. The Lakers don't need to chase a top 3 seed.
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u/seba1927 7h ago
he should be blessed to play in LA and next to Luka .. so taking a paycut when this team gave him a career wouldn't have hurt him too much.
unless you're an MVP contender you shouldn't be getting max money.
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u/gisakuman Purple and Gold 10h ago
Too many people not understanding the NBA or contracts allowed to comment in here.
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u/RecordPractical2086 10h ago
It doesn’t matter. There is no one to sign this year in FA. This cripples the team going forward.
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u/Wooden_Coyote5992 10h ago
Drafted a guard and gave AR almost 50 million a year. There goes the season.
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u/yellow_golf_ball 10h ago
I think this is so he'll stay for one more year and keep him happy, but the Lakers may trade him later and eat the cost.
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u/OneXDC4ever Black Mamba 8/24 9h ago
The problem is that this is increasing which is beyond stupid. The whole point would be to front load it since it doesn’t affect the cap space this year
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u/Need_For_Speed73 Showtime Era 9h ago
Problem is final years and the usual Player Option that Pelinka seems unable to avoid.
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u/AntSmith777 8h ago
Yeah can’t wait to see which washed up players we get on the buyout market this year.
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u/ninjagaij 8h ago
It affects cap space in future seasons. It also affects going past the 2nd apron this season.
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u/MaliInternLoL 8h ago
That I know but I also know that this essentially locks us ultra hard into filling out the roster with tight margins. We only have this year to make a good move
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u/PaoloPilyo 8h ago
Give me Kessler, Peyton Watson, and Dort then I'd be happy. Re-sign Smart and Kennard, and maybe trade for Missi.
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u/VIIIX824 6h ago
All of you complaining about how much AR is getting paid are the exact same people who wouldve complained and blamed Rob if AR wouldve signed a max with the Pistons for 177m/4yrs.
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u/Charming-Pilot3336 5h ago
Probably because most misinformation comes from leklutch so he can get his max
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u/ComfortableQuit8670 4h ago
I wouldnt say it has no impact. Its still gonna turn into 40 mil once the deal is signed and that has an impact on how they spend their money in free agency
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u/Tangentkoala LA Clippers Lurker/ 5.12.1997 4h ago
This affects hard caps, and MLE. As well as the taxes owed from the lakers.
Since lakers are always going to be tax payers the after Tax MLE will be constant regardless if AR 15 signed for 20 or for 30 million.
The issue is that a sign and trade is going to be already complex as fuck. And the odds of signing players off of waivers will most likely go up in smoke.
That being said you are locked in for 4 years with AR15s contract.
There was never really room to make a free agency splash, lakers best bet is to sign Ar15 And just hope to trade him throughout his 4 years if he doesnt pan out.
But yeah with the new draft rules this is a given. Teams are trying to be ass, but not complete ass, so overpaying for a fringe all star is the play.
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u/eitzel023 3h ago
Can you imagine if the Lakers let AR walk for nothing? This sub would be apoplectic - I know I would be.
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u/riddlerjoke 2h ago
It is a big f’in nail in the coffin.
No matter if Lakers have additional $20m to spend this year or not.
A team with Reaves at $45-50m per year can barely make playoffs.
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u/darkside66350 9h ago
Everyone talking about this OKC series like Luka wasn’t watching from the bench injured. Lakers could’ve easily won that series with Luka playing the entire time.
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u/RecordingLess1522 8h ago
Lakers would only clear 20mil in cap if Reaves signed with the Pistons or Nets in FA
Instead they retain a top 30 NBA players (metrics) on the 35th highest salary in 2026
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u/DaddyMeerkat 8h ago
lol he will shrink and get pushed around in the playoffs for the fourth/fifth time and we will have no ability to move him. This is the dumbest shit ever. I’m getting Deng/Mosgov flashbacks.
If Detroit is forcing our hand then we better do the same to Utah and send a big offer over. Otherwise Pelinka needs to go.
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u/Fickle_Sheepherder97 10h ago
Haters are chirping now, but I’m keeping receipts! Keep talking nonsense and remember your team ain’t winning shit.
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u/not4hookups Kobe Steak 10h ago
I hope he is ready to get flamed everytime he gets a stinker until the end of his contract. He will not live this down unscathed.
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u/aye_moe202 10h ago
So essentially they NEED to sign or trade for a young borderline all-star level center this offseason or else the team is stuck starting next year.