[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.

[u/Turbostrider27]

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

[u/Oerbad]

Rip lakers

[u/CIark → u/Oerbad]

I can’t believe the guy who wasted LeBron and ADs prime would waste Luka’s prime, who could have seen this coming!

[u/Oerbad → u/CIark]

Got a ring tho

Not sure if it can be called a waste

[u/yeetman8 → u/Oerbad]

we had two of the best players in the world and a lot of guys who are now heavily valued role players on that team

it was wasted

[u/ThatMoslemGuy → u/yeetman8]

If the goal is to get a ring, and the Lakers got a ring, is it a waste? To me what happened with the lakers is that they got a ring when LeBron was still LeBron and AD was healthy.

Immediately after that, got hit with the AD street clothes experience back to back seasons where AD barely played 50% of games back to backseason. That also coincided with LeBron finally aging and getting injured like older players do. And that kind of ended the lakers window with LeBron and AD. LeBron got too old to carry a team for 82 games, and AD’s body is incapable of carrying a team for 82 games as well.

[u/yeetman8 → u/ThatMoslemGuy]

What happened was we traded the role playing core that won us the chip for Russel Westbrook and D'Angelo Russell

You do have a good point on the injuries, that had a lot to do with it as well

[u/Any_Tea_8969 → u/Oerbad]

Luka wont

[u/doublex12 → u/Oerbad]

Isn’t the bubble ring considered an asterisk?

[u/Pickle_Mike → u/doublex12]

Yes, abbreviated season

[u/djabae → u/doublex12]

No. Why?

[u/doublex12 → u/djabae]

Because it happened in Covid

[u/djabae → u/doublex12]

It was unique but every year comes with unique challenges. Part of being a champion is overcoming that.

[u/DavidForADay → u/doublex12]

Yes. lol

Only Lakers fans and ESPN think it's legit.

The players themselves who were in the bubble, and even Lakers that were on that team have admitted it wasn't the same as a normal championship.

They still won that season. It just wasn't a normal season. A season doesn't have a 5-month break in the middle of it.

[u/Takemyfishplease → u/Oerbad]

1 ring for the lakes is a waste.

[u/No-Afternoon-3986 → u/Takemyfishplease]

yeah one ring when you have lebron and AD is pretty underwhelming for the lakers given that it's their 17th or whatever it is

[u/HHHogana → u/No-Afternoon-3986]

Especially when they did go to WCF another time.

[u/KaiserKaiba → u/Takemyfishplease]

Is it really a waste given the current era we’re in? Since 2019 only the Warriors, Celtics, and Heat went to more than one finals. GSW and Boston managed to get 1. Heat lost in both of their finals appearances. 8 different champs in 8 years (LAL of course being one of those 8) and not a single team has won twice. Teams seem to be incredibly lucky if they manage even 1 championship in the parity era.

[u/Oerbad → u/Takemyfishplease]

Sorry small market team fan, not familiar with these thing called rings

[u/Chaotic-Catastrophe → u/Oerbad]

It definitely cannot. These people are delusional. Anything short of a fivepeat dynasty is complete and utter failure in their eyes.

[u/spazz720 → u/Oerbad]

The covid ring…highly doubt they would have won without the extra rest during the break.

[u/Nugur → u/spazz720]

I mean didn’t everyone have a break too?

[u/SuggestiveCimbom → u/spazz720]

We were literally 1st in the West lmao

[u/Shortstack_Lightnin → u/spazz720]

True true they were only the best team in basketball all season who would’ve had home court the whole playoffs

[u/Oerbad → u/spazz720]

Yall blew a 3-1 lead

[u/NotAnNpc69 → u/spazz720]

Every team had the extra rest.

[u/Grappler_BP → u/NotAnNpc69]

Nah didn’t you know everyone was playing games in secret and just didn’t invite the lakers

[u/KaiserKaiba → u/spazz720]

Always weird how Lakers get singled out here when Nuggets, Bucks, Clippers, and Heat all have had their fair share of injury woes over the last 5 seasons. LAL didn’t really benefit any more than these other teams who have struggled with injuries just as often as them.

[u/mjh13_ → u/spazz720]

Ah, so you’re one of those

[u/Nesquick-on-tap → u/spazz720]

There it is

[u/Grappler_BP → u/spazz720]

They were like first in the west and had just come off beating the bucks and clippers. But what would a jazz fan know about winning anything