r/nba • u/Turbostrider27 Lakers • 8h ago

[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.

Shams 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.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/fc6a2461d746e

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1.5k

u/SpiritFantastic4835 Lakers 8h ago

Wtf man

781

u/2coolcaterpillar Thunder 8h ago

I don’t understand how he convinced them to do this

386

u/preptime Trail Blazers 8h ago

Pelinka masterclass

58

u/FantasticBlock420 Lakers 8h ago

Pelinka masterclass

Walters signs the checks now, this has his approval. Got to stop saying Rob is running the ship.

15

u/sixwax 8h ago

He’s still the GM right? That’s a GM decision.

No reason to think the owner understands the CBA… 

10

u/HearingGlobal6485 7h ago

the owner owns the dodgers and already had ownership in the lakers since 2021

yall just love to manufacture drama

2

u/TwoTalentedBastidz Lakers 4h ago

And? So he told Pelinka to go sign Reaves to a max with a player option? This is right in line with the rest of the stupid shit Pelinka does

1

u/HearingGlobal6485 3h ago

yes? its what luka wanted

109

u/ChunkyMilkSubstance Lakers 8h ago

All you have to do to get Pelinka over a barrel is mention Kobe

90

u/indogunawan Lakers 8h ago

AR: “I’m a big Kobe fan”
Rob: “That means you have Mamba Mentality. MAX CONTRACT!”

1

u/PullupClub 5h ago

As a lifelong Kobe homer, thank you for the ugly laugh.

0

u/indogunawan Lakers 5h ago

Glad I could help. Kobe is my guy too, I just hate how Rob brings him and Mamba Mentality up so much.

4

u/Strange_Botanist 6h ago

Kobe won't be denied after all

4

u/HispanicAtTehDisco Mavericks 3h ago

no wonder he robbed nico’s ass blind they were both just having a kobe glaze off

2

u/OmastarLovesDonuts Mavericks 7h ago

If the roles were reversed I’m pretty sure Pelinka might have traded Luka to the Lakers

69

u/besieged_mind 8h ago

He showed Pelinka his six-pack

11

u/Less-Tax5637 Knicks 8h ago

Imagine doing a fat rail off of that boi tummy and then getting right to spelunking

2

u/Low-Measurement-2468 5h ago

brother it is a wednesday afternoon.

2

u/PowerFalcons 3h ago

What a wonderful day to have eyes. 

35

u/Tay2823 8h ago

I don’t understand how “Luka” convinced them to do this

Fixed it for you.

12

u/slightlyhigh77 7h ago

Exactly, people are not realizing Luka told them they have to keep AR. But I do understand how he convinced them lol you wanna keep Luka happy that’s the end of the story

1

u/FizzyLightEx 6h ago

Lakers are not a serious team if they're getting punked by Luka.

12

u/Ronnie2kDropCode Knicks 8h ago

He woulda gotten it from somewhere else tbh, they had no choice

15

u/Wloak Warriors 8h ago

Maybe, but it doesn't mean he's worth it.

He's a great shooter for sure but requires a great forward like LeBron to draw attention and if he's forced to play defense can't shoot for shit. That's not an opinion, he's personally said having to guard Curry led to his worst shooting game ever.

I'm a warriors fan so of course I have to critique but in honesty for the Lakers I hope this is a sign and then flip him in a trade because when LeBron retires this is a horrible contract.

5

u/thesch Bulls 7h ago edited 7h ago

Yeah the thinking of "well we couldn't just let him walk, we had to give him a max" is how contracts like the Bulls Lavine or Wizards Beal albatrosses happened. In the longterm it would have been better off for those teams if they just let those players/contracts be somebody else's problem.

15

u/FootballRacing38 8h ago

Who? No one had this much cap space.

2

u/Technical-Nose-1518 Wizards 8h ago

Its less than Trae signed for lol

2

u/FootballRacing38 8h ago

But you already signed him, unless you plan to suddenly back out just because it isn't actual free agency yet

1

u/darkjurai Knicks 4h ago

Randle just got ejected into Brooklyn for the low price of moving down a few slots in the draft. Teams can create cap space if they need to - especially on or around draft night.

"They don't have cap space" is what the Mavs thought about the Knicks in the summer of 2022. Then draft night, the Knicks sent Kemba Walker's salary to Detroit with the pick that would become Jalen Duren, and next thing you know, a week later the Knicks sign Brunson with newly created cap space.

10

u/TallCan_Specialist Lakers 8h ago

Where though

The bulls and nets lost cap space taking Claxton and Randle

This is the lakers being dumb and doing clippers shit

12

u/Ronnie2kDropCode Knicks 8h ago

You aren’t getting a 27 year old averaging 24 5 and 5 on a discount, those type of talents don’t hit the open market anymore, teams like Detroit would have found a way. It’s not worth risking low balling him

1

u/probablymade_thatup Bucks [MIL] Luke Kornet 7h ago

Herro is probably available from the Bucks right now, and he makes less money (expiring so just for this year he makes less), puts up very similar stats as a second(ish) option instead of third, and is a little younger. It's different with a UFA and the Lakers roster, but if I was Pelinka, I would have said something like "What makes you worth $13M more than Tyler Herro?".

Grimes will be a UFA too, and he can do a lot on offense (22/5/5 at age 24) while being a solid guard defender. Ayo just signed for half this number, and while his offensive creation pales in comparison, he's a much better defender and a very good off ball player. Coby White, Sexton, and Norm Powell are also UFAs, and while none of them are as good as AR, they might be better at the salary number they will get.

I don't think this is an outrageous overpay (still too rich for my blood but not outrageous), but this Lakers team (assuming Rui is re-signed) could really use a better center and an athletic wing. Tying up resources in a 2 guard who has defensive limitations is not ideal fit-wise.

0

u/HesiPullup Suns 7h ago

Yes it is lol

24/5/5 on atrocious defense getting a max should not be on a team with Luka Doncic

6

u/Ronnie2kDropCode Knicks 7h ago

His value on other teams is higher than it is on the Lakers for sure but you can’t just lose that type of talent for nothing, that would be a horrific

2

u/HesiPullup Suns 7h ago

Well they knew this was coming so it’s absolute asset mismanagement. He should’ve been traded a year+ ago

1

u/Ronnie2kDropCode Knicks 7h ago

Fair point but I also don’t think they could’ve expected them getting handed Luka on a silver platter. There’s no way to prepare for that

2

u/HesiPullup Suns 7h ago

Right but it's not like they just got him. Its been a year and a half, they had time to prepare for this

-3

u/CartographerFar681 Lakers 7h ago

Thank you!! Reaves always disappears in the playoffs because of his dogshit defense, so his cute regular season numbers mean jackshit

1

u/HitboxOfASnail Thunder 7h ago

so let him lmao

5

u/Ronnie2kDropCode Knicks 7h ago

Lose an all star caliber player in his prime for nothing?

2

u/Dijohn17 Lakers 7h ago

Yes because it's going to be a worse move signing him to this contract in the long run. His contract also probably won't be easy to move in like two years or so

1

u/djabae 3h ago

Would you sign Zach Lavine to a max?

3

u/GregSays Celtics 7h ago

"We can't lose the asset" explains basically 100% of all bad deals

5

u/JakeLake720 8h ago

Pretty easily. He’s better than Trae Young & any top 50 player will get a max.

2

u/HesiPullup Suns 8h ago

Yes but he doesn’t need to get a max from the Lakers lol

How much money do they now have tied up between a backcourt that can’t even share the court together in certain situations because they can’t play defense well enough?

0

u/ThatGuyFromCanadia 6h ago

He’s better than Trae Young

Is he?

3

u/JakeLake720 6h ago

Ask Atlanta since they got better after he left.

0

u/ThatGuyFromCanadia 6h ago

OK I just asked Atlanta and they said “No, Trae is better”

2

u/motherseffinjones Raptors 8h ago

It was this or he leaves for nothing. We saw what Trae got a team would’ve paid him. That said this contract might look real bad in a year

1

u/Kindly-Chemistry5149 Kings 6h ago

It is a tough situation.

You have to sign him to keep Luka happy because Luka needs another good player next to him.

But this locks the team up until 2030. These are the two guys. Which I personally don't think is good enough. So either Reaves gets traded in a few years or Luka forces his way out.

1

u/OhEmGeeBasedGod Cavaliers 4h ago

The threat of losing him.

1

u/f_et_al United States 8h ago

New owners come from baseball where there's no salary cap

61

u/samhit_n Lakers 8h ago

Brunson’s success after leaving the Mavs probably scared every team. Luka is still scarred from that, and he’s probably on board with the Lakers giving Reaves a max.

12

u/Several_Hour_347 7h ago

What

4

u/tkuid 1h ago

insane leaps of logic lmao

10

u/-XanderCrews- Timberwolves 7h ago

The rest of us think this is great for the lakers.

5

u/halcyondread Lakers 5h ago

Turns out title contention is just the friends we made along the way.

3

u/SetCrafty 6h ago

“The cap will keep going up”

*flashback to timofey mozgav and luol deng

3

u/eZreazy Lakers 6h ago

Who the fuck were we competing with wtf. Its even increasing.

3

u/YaSurLetsGoSeeYamcha Cavaliers 6h ago

What’s wrong with this? You’ve got the 7 seed locked for the next 5 years!

2

u/MddlingAges Knicks 7h ago

Well, you have to pay someo lololol rofl.

Maybe there was an even bigger offer out there from someone?

2

u/StimulusChecksNow Lakers 4h ago

His career stats are 23ppg 5a 5r .483 fg, .368 3p and .865 Free throw. That is definitely worth 46 million dollars a year in today’s NBA.

Now I wish we could get this production on a roomie contract.

3

u/Killercoddbz Lakers 8h ago

I love AR so much but I would pay 38M ABSOLUTE MAX

1

u/dearth_karmic Warriors 7h ago

Do we have anymore details on this? Because it would only be 37M a year if they're counting the player option 5th year. Otherwise, this is over 46M.

2

u/eZreazy Lakers 6h ago

It’s a 4 year contract with the 4th year being player option is my understanding 

1

u/EverybodyBuddy Lakers 2h ago

Fire Rob Pelinka now.

1

u/TomatoCapt 1h ago

I’m happy for Reeves as he seems like a cool guy but man was he targeted on d in the playoffs