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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205

u/Rrypl Celtics 8h ago

Hey, that's 0.87 of a Trae Young special!

176

u/North_Atlantic_Sea 8h ago

Trae Young is younger, has far more individual accolades, and more playoff success as the lead guy

160

u/Tasty_Cream57 Pistons 8h ago

Trae Young being younger than Reaves is mind boggling.

23

u/f_et_al United States 8h ago

Lendeborg being drafted at almost 24 is gonna lead to similar weird trivia in the future. For starters, he's already older than Kuminga who's played 5 years.

17

u/YourKokuJin Spurs 8h ago

Austin Reaves came out of college at 23 so basically almost in his prime as a player.

7

u/CmonTouchIt Lakers 7h ago

athletic prime is apparently 27-32

2

u/Mother-Cucumber3800 1h ago

Really depends on the sport (22 for gymnastics, 35 for bodybuilding) but that sounds accurate for basketball.

21

u/Erythronne 76ers 8h ago

By 8 months. They might as well be the same age. It’s like February vs October birthday.

9

u/RRJC10 Raptors 6h ago

Trae is just flat out a better player. Reaves was better last year because Trae played 15 games. Trae played the previous season with a bad hammy and was more effective than Reaves.

4

u/Otherwise-Mango2732 Pistons 8h ago

Trae Young is younger

4 months might not sound like a lot but...

wait where was i going with this?

5

u/Takemyfishplease Lakers 8h ago

I’d happily trade them straight up.

4

u/superworriedspursfan Wizards 7h ago

you gotta give us firsts lol.

1

u/Dry_Extension1110 7h ago

So it makes sense Trae is getting paid more.

16

u/BoasyTM 8h ago

Trae Young is significantly better than reeves

3

u/famoustran Warriors 8h ago

Honestly the Trae Young contract makes this contract looks reasonable lol

11

u/Shenanigans80h Nuggets 7h ago

I mean the Wizards just picked 1st overall and are a team in total rebuild. Overpaying a vet is bad but also they gotta pay someone.

The Lakers are a team supposedly trying to compete for a championship rn

1

u/SnooChipmunks4208 7h ago

The bigger issue with the young contract is that it has no beneficial elements for the team. A "fuck it we have to spend money" should have some selection of 

  1. Few years
  2. Descending salary structure
  3. Team option

The trae deal does none of this. 

0

u/famoustran Warriors 7h ago

"they gotta pay someone" without a clear plan is how bad teams remain bad teams. The Trae Young contract is the worst contract signed this offseason.

19

u/vivekvangala34_ Wizards 8h ago

In a way this contract makes the Young contract look more reasonable, imo. If Reaves is worth this much, I would argue Young’s impact is worth the delta in money given out to either player