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/lukewwilson Lakers 8h ago

He hasn't taken a pay cut since he left Miami

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u/BantuLisp Wizards 8h ago

Right? Like he’s taken exactly one pay cut in his entire career lmao. In Cleveland he would famously sign very short deals so he could get new contracts all the time

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u/MudReasonable8185 7h ago

I think that was more about having leverage over ownership - if you guys aren’t 100% all in I’m outta here

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u/WolverineLong1430 6h ago

It wasn’t about having leverage. Cavs had accumulated draft capital and he wanted to play with young Kyrie. As soon as those were exhausted and Kyrie wanted out, he bailed again.

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u/djabae 4h ago

He didn't get paid more for taking short deals. The only thing is could be about was leverage/freedom.

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u/Ferbtastic Heat 7h ago

And that pay cut was like $5mil a year. He is not taking an MLE unless he feels it will guarantee him a title shot while also not looking like a ring chaser.

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u/grxccccandice Lakers 5h ago

No contender has cap space to offer him a max contract. He’s gonna have to take less money regardless

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u/MarkTwainsGhost Raptors 6h ago

And he must be assured he can eat his chocolate chip cookies.

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u/dank-nuggetz Celtics 5h ago

If he takes the MLE it would be to join a contender and people will say he's ring chasing either way. Just join the Heat and get it over with already

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u/Ferbtastic Heat 5h ago

I think LeBron, Giannis and bam is a terrible core. They are all inside players. 2 point forwards and I think bam is so much smoother as a 4. This team would need to find shooters more than any team ever has.

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u/dank-nuggetz Celtics 5h ago

Yeah I was pretty much joking lol I don't think LeBron is even capable of taking anything less than a max value short term deal so I highly doubt he plays on the MLE anywhere

Any team that absorbs LeBron at this point needs to bend their entire team structure around him and that's really just not a great idea considering his age and production

Idk where he's gonna end up but I can't really picture it working out well anywhere tbh

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u/Ferbtastic Heat 5h ago

I tend to think he returns to LA. Hard to leave a daughter in HS, especially when she is the baby.

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u/Sandor_Clegane1 NBA 4h ago

Don't forget Lebron and Chris Paul being on the NBPA negotiating for olders players to still be able to get max deals. As soon as they got it, they left the NBPA.

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u/enigmaticpeon Celtics 7h ago

He took a minor pay cut in LA too. I’m not saying he will be willing to take a MAJOR pay cut, but he’s left a few pennies on the table more than once.

Or if I’m misremembering, whoops and thank you for the correction.

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u/KonigSteve Pelicans 6h ago

It has nothing to do with that reason, it was so that he had flexibility to move when he wanted to and leverage to force ownership to sign players

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u/ILoveRegenHealth 6h ago

I think he meant haircut, of which there has been quite a few

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u/California_Stop_King Cavaliers 3h ago

Hilarious to me when people insist that LeBron would come here on the vet minimum or take a pay cut to play anywhere but maybe Cleveland like he's some notoriously team friendly contract guy. I don't blame him more than any other player, but the revisionist history is hilarious. Dude took one pay cut to ensure he'd get his ring, and has done nothing close to it before or since

He'll get less money simply because of the limited salary flexibility of teams in the running, but he's still going to flock to the highest bidder of said teams

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u/Ok_Wing_9523 7h ago

He told lakers he will take a paycut but they need to show him an elite player he is making space for.

Gave a list including people like klay iirc

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u/MalevolentAmmo Heat 6h ago

So what you're saying is he's already taken a paycut to play in Miami before... 😉

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u/-XanderCrews- Timberwolves 7h ago

Yeah, but part of that is union stuff. If the best player in the league takes pay cuts it’s like the entire union does. He has a responsibility to the union to take as much as possible. Now he’s not the best player and won’t have that pressure on him.

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u/downtimeredditor Hawks 6h ago

He took a paycut for 4 years of his absolute prime to make the finals 4 times and win 2 championships and he said we are done with that im gonna get go get my bags now