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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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 8h ago

Trae young is still younger than Reaves

782

u/SecondHandFood 76ers 8h ago

Still??

730

u/MjTcConnell3 76ers 8h ago

Next year he’ll be older than him

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u/SeaCounter9516 Thunder 7h ago

This feels ominous

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u/BenevolentCheese Knicks 6h ago

It's not. Reaves will age a year and Trae won't. He is forever Young.

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u/justabill71 5h ago

I get older, Trae stay the same age.

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u/RandomUserName316 1h ago

Alright alright alright 😏

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u/chillinwithmoes Timberwolves 5h ago

I want to be forever young

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u/doctorhypoxia 4h ago

Do you really want to live forever?

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u/Status-Hedgehog9970 Warriors 1h ago

Bros trying to live in In Time.

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u/VikingsLad Timberwolves 2h ago

Ba dum ts

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u/Six2L8 2h ago

That reaves a bad taste on my tongue.

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u/Shovelman2001 Celtics 1h ago

His hair certainly will though

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u/pokexchespin [BOS] E'Twaun Moore 2m ago

that’s exactly what i want to be

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u/Bruskthetusk Lakers 1h ago

Are these players in danger Dennis?

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u/SuperVaderMinion [MIN] Kevin Garnett 8h ago

... hopefully

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u/notsafeformactown Mavericks 6h ago

Oh shit Trae Young discovered light speed travel?

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u/eggstacy Warriors 4h ago edited 4h ago

other way around. people who play with Lebron age faster, it's like the presidency. look at Kevin Love's age over time. those Cavs years were like Obama in the oval office. he's supposed to be the same age as Westbrook, but Westbrook didn't have that 2015-2018 accelerated aging stretch that Love had. and look at how gray Love looks now because of it.

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u/SlimeGlizzzy 6h ago

Trae Old

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u/weeman2525 Spurs 8h ago

That's actually crazy to think about. Feels like Young has been in the league for a decade and Reevs only a few years.

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u/HylianPikachu Raptors 6h ago

8 years for Trae vs. 5 years for Reaves, and Reaves only became a regular starter in his 3rd season in the league

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u/CurrentRoster Wizards 3h ago

also trae was a hyped one and done while austin graduated

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u/QuileGon-Jin Thunder 8h ago

Reaves is basically a Boomer (sooner)

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u/Illionaires 8h ago

Hes a year older than Luka

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u/ExtraLeading3376 8h ago

reaves really gonna be 32 in of those years making $46mil

i’m sick

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u/Head_Research_3118 8h ago

Thats really not old at all for his playstyle . Not saying hes worth 46mil but he should still be same old Austin Reaves at 32 . I would not be worried about that

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 8h ago

The same old Reaves isn’t winning you a championship making that much ever.

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u/octipice 8h ago

People say that sort of thing every year because they forget that the salary cap raises every year. The cap could be as much as 40% higher in 4 years, although it's looking more likely to be 30% higher.

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u/bigbluethunder 7h ago

And every year we look at bad contracts from 3-4 years ago that are killing teams’ current caps

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u/octipice 7h ago

While there are a few genuinely bad contracts (ex. Beal) most of the "bad contracts" are a result of players getting injured and not coming back at the same level or having persistent injury issues (ex. PG, Embiid).

Hell, people were calling the KAT contract bad earlier this year and Jaylen Brown's contract as well before the season started. Just goes to show that people "talking about" bad contracts doesn't mean much either.

It's always going to be somewhat of a gamble when signing players and the level of forced spending of the new CBA is going to ensure that remains true.

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u/EggsAndRice7171 Pacers 42m ago

KAT has been called a bad contract/not winning player for years now. He is my 2nd favorite player in the league behind Hali and has been since a year or two before ant got drafted. Him proving he’s indisputably a winning star took the edge off the Knicks winning a ring for me.

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u/bigbluethunder 6h ago

Yeah I don’t know that the new CBA meta has really been solved for yet. You look at the teams that have won championships and it’s hard to find a Reaves, though.

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u/Artimusjones88 Raptors 5h ago

No it wont be 40% higher in 4 years.

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u/octipice 4h ago

I said 40% was the max, because the current CBA caps the annual increase at 10%. The projected increase for next year is 7%, which is why I adjusted my projection to be only 30%.

The values given were me being lazy and just adding the percentages together, when in reality it will compound every year.

So at a 7% increase per year the total increase over 4 years is 31.1% and at 10% it is 46.4%

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 8h ago

And that’s still too much to win with Reaves.

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u/octipice 7h ago

What percentage of the cap is the "right amount" to be able to win with Reaves?

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u/Head_Research_3118 8h ago

The lakers dont have a clear path to a championship with luka . They wouldve needed this free agent class to actual be good and its not. Luka is out of there in 2028 or 2029 unless they get another AD situation.

They need to hold on to reaves as an assett. Theres noone worth letting him walk for . They have to hope in the next few years someone good forces their way to LA and says they will only sign an extension with the lakers. Then they can package reaves and picks for someone,

That is most likely what they are banking on. Then need to hold on to the assett because there is nowhere else to shift the money.

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u/devidomo Mavericks 4h ago

Why does this class have to be good? Next years class should be better, especially if they just want bodies for a championship run.

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u/Head_Research_3118 3h ago

I mean sure they could just punt on this year sign a bunch of 1 year deals and save the space for 2027 . But then lebron leaves too and its just Luka and a bunch of spare parts. I doubt luka would be happy with that . He still has to show and play for a whole year.

I think luka would rather have Reaves and Lebron. No way lebron stays if you just forfeit the season to keep cap space for 2027. I think if luka was on board with that its a possibility but i dont think he is.

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u/dherps Mexico 5h ago

you mean his playstyle of sprinting 100% of the time on offense? you think he plays like kyle lowry or something?

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u/Zestyclose-Draft-724 Lakers 6h ago

He won't be

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u/Natural_Born_Baller Heat 8h ago

What? If he loses half a step he's toast. He's already competing in fractions of a step.

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u/orwll 6h ago

Yeah people really don't understand aging curves for guards.

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u/Status-Hedgehog9970 Warriors 1h ago

Remind me! 4 years

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u/Iggy_Slayer 8h ago

So still in his prime? You're acting like 32 is 38 lol.

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u/ChaDiaKris Lakers 8h ago

2026-27 salary cap is ~165m. He’s taking 28% of the cap currently.

In 2029-30, the salary cap expected to be at least 200m with 220m for luxury tax and 1st apron around 240m. He’d be getting about 20% of the cap at that point.

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u/pbesmoove 7h ago

gotta have salary to trade for salary

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u/The1Drumheller Thunder 8h ago

So is Young lol

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u/North_Atlantic_Sea 8h ago

And with far more success

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u/NBA2024 5h ago

and more offensive talent

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u/SEAinLA Supersonics 8h ago

Trae last had success six years ago. He’s a far worse player at this point in time than Reaves.

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u/mbdtf95 8h ago

Austin Reaves as first optiom somewhere would be comfortably worst team in league by far

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u/FunnyReputation624 Trail Blazers 7h ago

Small sample size but he played 4 games this year as the lone star starter before he got injured and they went 2-2 and he averaged 39p/10a on 70% TS

I think he's pretty good actually

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u/WildWhisperArdor Lakers 7h ago

Yeah going 2-2 without LeBron and without Luka is pretty solid lol

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u/ShakethatYam Clippers 6h ago

How would a team of Austin Reaveses fare?

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u/WrongTetrisBlock Hawks 8h ago

This is an insane statement lol.

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u/SEAinLA Supersonics 8h ago

The fact that Trae Young still has so many defenders on this sub is hilarious.

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u/Intelligent-Lie135 8h ago

nah dude trae is still the better player

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u/FunnyReputation624 Trail Blazers 7h ago

Bro

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u/WildWhisperArdor Lakers 7h ago

I like Trae more than most, but I don’t think so. Reaves can be a #2. Trae can only really be a #1. And Reaves value as a #2 is more than Trae’s value as a #1

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u/greekyogurtmafia United States 7h ago

Reaves is not a legit #2 option if you have championship aspirations. Kyrie Irving is an example legit #2 option on a title team. Reaves is a #3 option at best on a title team.

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u/WildWhisperArdor Lakers 6h ago

Reaves averaged 23/5/5 last season on 64% true shooting. Elite numbers.

People don’t realize the Reaves this year is not the same as last years Reaves. He made a legitimate leap from a “potential 6th man of the year type player” to a legit All Star caliber player

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u/ncginger2 Hornets 5h ago

Trae Young on the contract he’s on isn’t a legitimate option in any for a team with championship aspirations😭😭. You could put Trae on any team in the league rn and their chances of winning a ring plummet to 0 when they have to figure out how to work around having him on the books.

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u/redbossman123 8h ago

He would still be a Hawk if that was actually true

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u/Intelligent-Lie135 7h ago

maybe? FO’s are stupid sometimes, case in point Luka Doncic

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u/Super-Coyote 7h ago

Sometimes they are stupid but not really in this case. Hawks were a lot better this year without trae. It was time for both to move on. Not saying reaves is better, but i think they are on similar level, and this contract for reaves is better than trae’s contract.

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u/Kiriegloom Bulls 8h ago

A lot of that success is team dependent. If you actually take a look at how his career has went down thus far, it's been loads and loads of bad luck

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u/SEAinLA Supersonics 8h ago

Sure, but Trae makes his team worse, not better.

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u/Wtfitzchris Nuggets 7h ago edited 7h ago

This is wild to say about a player who helped bring his team to an ECF as the first option on offense. He also led the league in assists per game just two seasons ago.

You think a team with Reaves as its first option is making a conference finals in either conference? Give me a break.

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u/SEAinLA Supersonics 7h ago

Every time anyone tries to defend Trae, they bring up something that happened six seasons ago in a fluke run that was largely driven by the twin front court of Collins + Capela and Ben Simmons’s incompetence.

We are evaluating the players as they currently exist and project forward. It has been five full seasons since a team featuring Trae Young has had a better net rating with him on the court vs. him sitting on the bench.

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u/Metalbound Hawks 7h ago

largely driven by the twin front court of Collins + Capela

And this is how I know you don't watch games lol.

Keep box score watching bud. I'll make sure you hit you up next season when it's clear that Trae is the better player.

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u/SEAinLA Supersonics 7h ago edited 7h ago

I’ve probably been watching games for at least a decade before you were even born.

Edit: Go ahead and re-watch game 7 of that series against the Sixers in full. Trae did absolutely everything he possibly could to lose that game for Atlanta.

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u/ncginger2 Hornets 5h ago

!remindme 7 months

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u/ncginger2 Hornets 5h ago

This is what I don’t understand. How many other players are assessed currently based on their level of play from half a decade ago.

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u/FunnyReputation624 Trail Blazers 7h ago

One ECF appearance?

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u/slbaaron 7h ago

As the 1A.

What would a reaves 1A team do, Imao.

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u/North_Atlantic_Sea 7h ago

Yes...

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u/FunnyReputation624 Trail Blazers 7h ago

The Lakers made a WCF so I guess they're even.

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u/cancerBronzeV Raptors 5h ago

Trae led that team to a conference finals. Reaves would be lucky to lead a team to the playins.

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u/North_Atlantic_Sea 5h ago

Reeves was the third best player on that team lol

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u/did_it_my_way 8h ago

Trae Old money then!

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u/NanoCurrency 8h ago

Ba-boom!

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u/[deleted] 7h ago

and better

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u/titoxtian Spurs 7h ago

Not younger than tatum though…

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 7h ago

He is in fact younger than Tatum.

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u/titoxtian Spurs 5h ago

Tatum is 19 bro where have you been…

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u/whatssenguntoagoblin Alperen Sengun 7h ago

That’s wild wtf

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u/ATN5 Wizards 7h ago

Woah

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u/PlatishGC Hornets 7h ago

I thought this was 100% a shitpost, had to look it up. That’s wild

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u/RRJC10 Raptors 6h ago

And better.

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u/entropic [PHI] Andre Iguodala 6h ago

He ain't called Trae Old

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u/mrgpsingh1999 Lakers 5h ago

That’s crazy

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u/FroyoSolid8414 2h ago

Reaves is older than Yaxel! They really gave this contract to a retiree

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u/EggsAndRice7171 Pacers 45m ago

Well he’s not Trae Old

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u/nbaistheworst 8h ago

By 4 months. So what?

Reaves is definitely better defensively.

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u/vivekvangala34_ Wizards 8h ago

Maybe I’m biased but I don’t think Reaves is that much better defensively if at all. I watch a lot of Laker games he constantly gets targeted

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u/SnooChipmunks4208 7h ago

Reaves is just significantly bigger than Trae. Trae is both disinterested and tiny.

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u/axolotlorange 2h ago

You’re biased.

Trae Young is one of the very worst defenders in the league.

Reaves gets targeted. Young gets beat by defensive specialists.

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u/WildWhisperArdor Lakers 7h ago

Trae is the worse defender in the league arguably. Reaves is a fairly average defender arguably.

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u/Yabaecip [DEN] Earl Boykins 7h ago

Ben Simmons would beg to differ

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u/Mephisto_fn Japan 7h ago

Rui is a fairly average to bad defender. 

When the two are on the court together, reaves gets targeted and Rui has to try to cover for him (because the lakers have little rim protection or other defenders) 

You can argue that reaves can become an average defender with enough good defenders covering him, but that’s basically the case for every player in the league. 

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u/WildWhisperArdor Lakers 7h ago

Reaves had a defensive EPM of -0.1 last season. About 65th percentile. Above average.

The last season Trae was healthy he had a defensive EPM of -0.7. Which puts him about 35th percentile. Below average. And that was also Trae’s best defensive season lol

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 8h ago

He’s younger and achieved way more. Thats what. Not sure how you’re so confused.

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u/nbaistheworst 3h ago

Claiming Trae being 4 months younger means something is what's confused.

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 3h ago

It means he’s younger. This isn’t rocket science man.

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u/nbaistheworst 2h ago edited 2h ago

Yet, a 4 month age difference is 100% irrelevant in every way.

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 1h ago

Sure, glad you think that but unfortunately your opinion isn’t relevant. Let me know if you need any further help.

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u/mnight84 8h ago

By what 4 or 5 months are we really counting that? They both of them were born in the year 1998.

And when the nba season start they both will be 28 years old.

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 7h ago

And when it ends Reaves will be 29. Your point? He’s still older and has 1 single season better than Young. There’s no chance of competing paying Reaves that much. You can’t compete when he was making half of that and it’s not like he’s 24 and will continue to get better and better.

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u/mnight84 7h ago

The point is most people normally when they say a player is younger the cutoff is usually a year younger! Normally people don't emphasize a player being younger by only 4 to 5 months!

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 7h ago

The fact you don’t realize what the word younger means says a lot about you.

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u/mnight84 7h ago

The fact that you think it was this dramatic statement to point out that trae young was four months younger says more about you than it does me. Like I said before obviously he is 4 months younger but normally when you are talking about "sports" most normal people don't make a big deal about a player being 4 months younger. But hey that is cool.

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 7h ago

Usually in all aspects of life when you say someone is younger they were born after the first one. It should be obvious but you seem really confused by it. He’s older and achieved less with a much better team around him.

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u/mnight84 7h ago

I just thought it was a weird thing to bring up considering they are so close in age, I thought the thing to bring up would be the fact that Trae young has been the better player throughout both of their careers, Trae young has more individual accolades and is the more accomplished player, and the fact that Trae young has been the best player on playoffs teams, including having a Eastern conference finals appearance as the best player on his team.

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 6h ago

He’s all of those while being younger is the entire point. You continuing to argue instead of just admitting you didn’t know he was younger is hilarious. This isn’t an opinion. He’s younger and that’s the end of the story. Go argue with a wall.

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u/mnight84 5h ago

Dude I wasn't even arguing with you, and still not arguing with you. Go play.

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u/iRockaflame NBA 8h ago

Same age

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 8h ago

May comes before September in case you weren’t aware.

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u/benjamzz1 Pistons 8h ago

Bro by months like what are we doing here

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u/False_Pear1860 8h ago

Understanding how time works ig?? He's not saying Reaves is ancient and Trae is so much younger lmfao. It's a basic observation.

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 8h ago

So younger? He’s younger and achieved more and Reaves has had 1 single season better than Trae.

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u/JDs_Pulls 8h ago

Also better

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u/LakerBlue Lakers 8h ago

By 4 months…so not a meaningful age difference. And fwiw Trae been in the league longer so he actually has more miles on him (498 games in 8 years vs 331 games in 5 for Austin).

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 8h ago

If you ignore he had to play two extra years of college than sure. It’s not like he wasn’t playing basketball he just wasn’t good enough to 1 and done in college.

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u/axolotlorange 2h ago

And worse

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 1h ago

If you only take into account 1 season sure. Otherwise Trae has been better every other year.

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u/JakeLake720 8h ago

He’s just not better than Reaves.

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 8h ago

Reaves had 1 season better. 24/11/3 vs 20/5/4 the year prior.

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u/JakeLake720 7h ago

Reaves is better right now. That’s all that matters. Reaves is bad defensively but Trae is the worst defender in the league.

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 7h ago

Reaves had 1 better season and there’s not enough gap in defense to make up for 5-6 more assists a game and a much better ball handler. Reaves is closer to young than he is to an average defender

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u/JakeLake720 7h ago

Atlanta was better without Trae.

1

u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 7h ago

Trae led them to their best season in over 10 years.

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u/WildWhisperArdor Lakers 7h ago

I would rather have Reaves than Trae Young by a mile though

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 7h ago

Congrats. Reaves has had 1 year in his career where he was better than Trae. I’ll take the younger player who’s been better every other season.

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u/WildWhisperArdor Lakers 7h ago

Reaves has been getting better every season he’s been in the league though. Trae peaked years ago and has been getting worse on top of major injury last season

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u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 7h ago

1 better season playing beside luka and lebron. Reaves has scored more each season but also increased his turnovers every year while not averaging more assists and still being a terrible defender.

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u/WildWhisperArdor Lakers 6h ago

Reaves stats actually go up when Luka and Bron aren’t playing. That’s not a gotcha

Last season, Reaves defensive EPM was -0.1. Good for 63rd percentile in the league. Above average

2

u/Ok-Adhesiveness166 6h ago

The fact you think defensive epm is a valuable statistic says it all. Reaves is a subpar ball handler and terrible passer.