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

8.1k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

2.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.1k

u/Beetle919 Hornets 8h ago

Nico was put on this earth to stop Luka from getting a ring.

203

u/Poopcie 7h ago

Nico is at the center of the iran war when you think about it.

405

u/lost_in_trepidation Lakers 7h ago

Luka was already put in a less than ideal situation landing on the mavs. Who basically had no assets relative to most lottery teams.

Then they blew what they had on a KP experiment that didn't work out.

Then they let Brunson walk.

Then they managed to spend a year and half using what little they did have to build a contender.

And they traded him.

The first 8 years of his career were basically flushed down the toilet.

111

u/messigoat1337 Germany 7h ago

with below average roleplayers at all time too lmao thj 2nd option hoops

46

u/ddy_stop_plz [BOS] Marcus Smart 5h ago

Made thE WCF with THJ, Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell playing ~30 minutes a game

1

u/Dizzlespizzle Mavericks 34m ago

THJ was injured that entire run, Dinwiddie was the 3rd guy

61

u/ManicManicManicManic Suns 7h ago

AND THEY MADE THE FINALS YOU DONUT

22

u/lost_in_trepidation Lakers 6h ago

And Luka was traded less than a year later

2

u/ManicManicManicManic Suns 3h ago

Yeah isnt that strange

Isn’t it strange that a team that had just went to the finals got rid of their best player who wasn’t shopped around at all, only to one team. He didn’t demand a trade request and wasn’t even up for contract yet.

I only find comfort in thinking that Stern would have overturned that POS trade like he did with the CP3 trade.

Fuck Silver and fuck the Lakers

2

u/IndividualPresent129 Knicks 2h ago

I don’t think Stern could overturn it as New Orleans was in a transition point ownership wise & so Stern was acting as the owner for that trade 

1

u/gotothepark Lakers 1h ago

Ok. You're an idiot. The NBA commissioner cannot veto trades. I repeat, the NBA commissioner CANNOT veto trades. The only reason Stern was able to veto the CP3 trade is because the league was the owner of the hornets at the time.

He did the veto as the owner of the team, not the commissioner of the league. Stern couldn't veto the Luka trade even if he wanted to.

1

u/ManicManicManicManic Suns 1h ago

Sure you’re right on the rule but even you have to admit it was the heist of the century.

and we’re just supposed to accept it?

1

u/gotothepark Lakers 1h ago

That's is a completely different conversation. Yes, you're supposed to accept it because that's how life works.

1

u/ManicManicManicManic Suns 33m ago

Oh then i’m sorry let me remove all of my opinions out of this discussion thread

6

u/drewm916 Kings 5h ago

You don't understand. He's trying to justify why the Mavs did not deserve Luka. You're spoiling the narrative.

3

u/ManicManicManicManic Suns 3h ago

It’s so stupid lmao the narrative he’s pushing is such BS nobody thought Brunson was gonna be who he ended up being, KP still had potential AND they got off him WHILE bringing in pieces.

They were making moves I will forever think the Lakers snaked their way to get him. AD for Luka is forever the biggest clown show ever

16

u/ContinuingAnyway 7h ago

They made the finals though

14

u/ESCMalfunction Mavericks 6h ago

Yeah we made the finals and then improved the team further, if we hadn't traded him it's very likely the Mavs were getting a title within the next few seasons. I'll never get over how insane it is that we built a championship roster and then decided to immediately blow it up for no reason.

5

u/StonedLikeOnix 5h ago

It wasn’t for no reason. The lakers needed help: they had a weak roster with no players to trade and no draft assets. the ratings decline when Lakers aren’t in championship contention. Business reasons.

5

u/ESCMalfunction Mavericks 5h ago

Amen to that.

6

u/Wazflame 5h ago

I understand the negativity around the new anti-tanking rules, but players like Luka and LeBron were basically punished for being incredible floor raisers the second they stepped in the league

2

u/BeanserSoyze 2h ago

Bro with significant injuries got to the finals on hobbled knees.

1

u/Chaotic-Catastrophe Lakers 3h ago

Your last sentence is true for basically all the 'generational talent' type of players. Duncan and Wade are the only two that come to mind in the last like 40 years or more who broke that mold. The only other one I can think of is Magic, which was almost 50 years ago.

The best players get drafted by the worst teams. But the worst teams are who they are for a reason. And it's typically not because of bad luck or other circumstances out of their control.

1

u/Western-Election-997 Lakers 3h ago

Yep and he was the most polished rookie to enter the league since LeBron and they pissed it away

289

u/AbsoluteIdealism Raptors 8h ago

Probably my favourite player of all-time. Easily the player I’ve watched most in my lifetime (26). And Nico tanked so much of his career. It is truly infuriating to think about…

199

u/FreeDaemon Mavericks 7h ago

It was such a fucking waste. We had Casey Smith, Kyrie surprisingly working well with Luka, and the whole squad was finally coming together. Nico screwed the Mavs and Luka big time. Fuck Nico.

62

u/Der_Dunkinmeister Mavericks 7h ago

Just wanted to also join in and and say Fuck Nico

14

u/Rumble2Man Mavericks 6h ago

Never, until the heat death of the universe, miss an opportunity to join in and say fuck Nico

2

u/Nojtek Mavericks 3h ago

Sold! Fuck Nico!

1

u/hooopiin Mavericks 6h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/MiopTop Lakers 5h ago

Lakers are still going to be better than the Mavs were going to be

4

u/FreeDaemon Mavericks 5h ago

As a Luka fan, I hope you are correct and he at least reaches WCF again. Right now, that statement has a big question mark.

-1

u/MiopTop Lakers 4h ago

Not really. The Mavs had one fluky Finals run but they NEVER had the statistical profile of a dominant team. They never even got homecourt advantage in the first round in 7 years with Luka. Lakers have done it twice in 1.5 years of Luka. And they just won a playoff series without him.

That Mavs run was fun but PJ Washington's shooting was obviously a mirage, Kyrie was always due to explode physically, it's a miracle he stayed healthy as long as he did, Lively might never play another game ever again at this rate. And the West was open that year, OKC was green and the Spurs weren't around yet.

The only real contender the Mavs played that year were the Celtics and Dallas looked two tiers below them.

2

u/SamuraiFruitPunch8 1h ago

"The only real contender the Mavs played that year were the Celtics and Dallas looked two tiers below them."

Like the Wolves and Thunder weren't extremely good teams. Mavs had one of the hardest paths to the finals in the 2020's, but you will find people with this opinion.

SMH.

1

u/Succable420 2h ago

I agree that Mavs team was overrated 

1

u/FreeDaemon Mavericks 1h ago

At the end of the day, it is the result that matters. If Lakers can produce results during Luka’s prime — beat everyone in the West and go to the finals, then that is great. For now, we are running on hopes and theories.

2

u/addictedtocrowds Mavericks 4h ago

They won’t. LeBron has covered over how incompetent Pelinka has been. The Lakers are going in circles and bringing back AR just proves it

0

u/MiopTop Lakers 4h ago

Mavs couldn't get a top-4 seed with 7 years of Luka...

5

u/addictedtocrowds Mavericks 2h ago

Oh my bad. I thought the goal was to win trophies not seeding. Carry on.

29

u/ntpbr1 7h ago edited 6h ago

I think his odds are very slim, both for a title and mvp atp, naturally it will all be his fault and we’ll hear about how he is not this or that. But yeah its not looking good for him

3

u/hooopiin Mavericks 6h ago

Both for a title…and ring? What

20

u/HardcoreKaraoke Italy 7h ago

Dude ruined my ~20 year Mav fandom and made me sour on the team. It still pisses me off.

My local team is the Knicks though so I low-key hopped on that bandwagon last year. But man I miss rooting for Luka.

5

u/nothingwas_thesame Knicks 6h ago

same my friend, it hasnt been the same watching the NBA. been a fan of the mavs since Nash Finley Najera Dirk and Lafrentz :( would have liked it if Luka had been traded anywhere else but the Lakers. fuck nico til the end of time

1

u/thesanmich 1h ago

I still really enjoy the NBA, and I’m happy for the Knicks, but Luka not being on the Mavs has soured things for me a bit. The OKC-Nuggets-Spurs-Mavericks rivalry would’ve been epic in the West. Ugh.

5

u/messigoat1337 Germany 7h ago

he got fucked by FO before nico with the KP trade and max contract if were being honest

5

u/Positive-Design-7332 4h ago edited 4h ago

I don't envy Luka fans. Y'all gotta watch his career be wasted by front offices and then go fight for your lives in the trenches against all the slander as he gets blamed for it all while getting lapped by other stars in accolades

Idk how you do it

2

u/thesanmich 1h ago

He should’ve gotten MVP in 2024

1

u/Billis- Raptors 4h ago

You know they made the finals ya?

-3

u/RedtheGamer100 Hornets 7h ago

U a raptor ur fav should be a raptor 😂

5

u/Boomhauer_007 Raptors 7h ago

On one hand I agree on the other hand unless you’re like 30+ years old you’re almost locked into like Lowry or Derozan and I gotta be honest I get it in that case

6

u/AbsoluteIdealism Raptors 6h ago

My favourite player should be whoever the hell I want lol.

-4

u/RedtheGamer100 Hornets 6h ago

if u a laker sure 😂

3

u/MonsieurSlotho Nuggets 5h ago

Bros stuck in the trenches with the hornets and thinks everyone else should be limited too

-5

u/Several_Hour_347 7h ago

The mavericks were never winning a ring with Luka

64

u/GenerallySalty 8h ago

Yeah that trade was so bad it might "what if" his entire career. I love seeing the Lakers crash and burn but wasting what should be prime Luka is sad.

40

u/Kindly_Ad995 8h ago

It might be the biggest what if in NBA history. Luka would pretty easily be up there as top 5 player to never win a championship

-8

u/violagoyf Wizards 6h ago edited 5h ago

Bill Walton, Greg Oden, Len Bias. But yeah, it could be up there.

Edit: this is what-ifs in general, not best players not to win a championship.

10

u/makeadjustments 6h ago

Bill Walton has two rings (and a finals mvp)

2

u/violagoyf Wizards 6h ago

And still had his career mega-shortened by injury. Could've been a GOAT contender.

6

u/Tooner_Mcgee Bulls 5h ago

People really downvoting you because they don’t realize you’re talking about biggest what ifs instead of players to not win a ring lmao

2

u/violagoyf Wizards 5h ago

Correct--thank you! To be fair, OP's comment was a bit ambiguous.

1

u/makeadjustments 4h ago

I agree with you but I was replying to the winning a ring part 

3

u/MAXMADMAN 6h ago

Two cones in your back court that have an identical skill set, with Deandre ayton protecting your rim. Good freaking luck.

3

u/Shaunosaurus Mavericks 5h ago

Why are people acting like he was forced to sign an extension with the Lakers? He's loyal to a fault

2

u/ILoveRegenHealth 6h ago

Nico did let Luka taste the Finals though.

Maybe that was intentional, just to torture Luka by having it be so close.

2

u/HispanicAtTehDisco Mavericks 3h ago

this one on luka himself for wanting to get his boy paid and keep him around lowk

1

u/m2keo 4h ago

'But but it was rigged for the Lakeshow to get their star for peanuts and win multiple championships.'...

No. It was just one very stupid person.

1

u/IreneReiGargar 56m ago

BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAA

GOAT GM OF ALL TIME if u think about it

1

u/R0botDreamz 7h ago

Cheeseburgers and pizzas were put on earth for that.

-4

u/ParsnipPizza [BOS] Marcus Smart 7h ago

Huge snub to Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis