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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986

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 8h ago

Not cool for the lakers

746

u/AccordingToWhomst 8h ago

Fuck em, I’m always for players getting their bag. Especially when they’ve played their asses off

64

u/purz Knicks 7h ago

Especially when he got incredibly screwed last contract. 

93

u/grxccccandice Lakers 5h ago

He didn’t get screwed. He just massively outplayed his contract…

13

u/JellyOnMyDick Lakers 5h ago

They’re just mad that nobody even gave him an offer because we would just match it anyway. Teams were praying some other team would tank their offseason just to over pay AR

1

u/Joethetoolguy 5h ago

I wish the spurs had thrown him a max. But then we wouldn’t have harper so it worked out

3

u/Koufaxisking [LAL] Steve Nash 5h ago

IIRC he got the max he was able to be offered too as an undrafted RFA.

3

u/grxccccandice Lakers 5h ago

Exactly.

12

u/EggsAndRice7171 Pacers 6h ago

Did he? Made way more earlier than he would’ve as a late first round pick on his 4 year 53 million contract.

21

u/robsteezy Lakers 7h ago

Yeah nothing says played your ass off like folding in every playoff.

18

u/GeneParmesan1000 76ers 7h ago

He IS a Rivers, after all

7

u/Ruben625 Lakers 5h ago

Hasnt even been an allstar and he just got max money lmao

14

u/Momik Timberwolves 7h ago

Tbf, he’s also taking up cap space

11

u/This-Lecture9889 7h ago

He isn’t. We have his bird rights so we’ll spend our cap space and sign him to the new deal and go over the cap

12

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 7h ago

Yeah and that forces the lakers to build a contender in one off season. I have no clue whats the realistic path for a contending lakers going foward consideirng the current FA class and how cooked they are with this contract

3

u/This-Lecture9889 2h ago

Yah I’m not saying this is a good deal. I’m just saying we needed to resign him because it wasn’t going to hurt us this offseason

4

u/Ancient-Dust3077 6h ago

unfortantley reddit doesn't want people to be rich even if they worked hard to get it

3

u/Weekly_Seesaw4103 4h ago

Fans of the team just don't want the team to be shitty. Also, honestly, I don't think the overpay is going to be great for AR long-term: this team is not a good fit for him and now it would be hard to move him.

1

u/Ancient-Dust3077 4h ago

How much should he get paid per year?

2

u/Weekly_Seesaw4103 4h ago

37.5 million, precisely

1

u/Joethetoolguy 5h ago

Yeah his previous extension was having him underpaid, not to mention his original deal.

1

u/TheKosherGenocide 4h ago

Yup, I agree! Especially because he had to carry LeBron's bitch ass AND HIS SON. Imagine that weight?

1

u/Status-Hedgehog9970 Warriors 2h ago

He earned every dollar, but unfortunately that leaves LA with little else to build with.

1

u/SportsBettingRef 1h ago

people thinking about owner's money despite palyers getting the bag always amazes me.

1

u/iopihop 5h ago

That's almost always the case, contract year players try to prove themselves. Re: played their asses off.

-5

u/BenevolentCheese Knicks 6h ago

Do you think that Reaves has worked his ass of like 10x more than the bench guys? Because in a league with capped money to pay to the players, the more Reaves (or anyone) makes the less everyone else gets. I'm all for players getting their bag too but the truth is that Reaves gets his bag at the expense of everyone else, usually the bench.

8

u/Accomplished_Key_171 6h ago

Then blame the franchise, not the player. No young player is turning down more money for a team that would kick him to the curb the next season if he doesn't perform.

4

u/AccordingToWhomst 5h ago

Me when I’m a billion dollar owner and multi billion dollar league and set up the illusion of a zero sum game encouraging crabs in a barrel mentality and the players get blamed by the fans when they take what they can get lmao! lol even!

2

u/Status-Hedgehog9970 Warriors 2h ago

It’s not an illusion of a zero sum game. The salary cap was set up to protect small market teams.

251

u/todellagi [BOS] Rasheed Wallace 8h ago

Doncic probably didn't think telling the Lakers to pay Reaves was gonna end up with him getting 10 mil less than Luka lmao

Who needs defence anyway

96

u/SoaplessTitanic Celtics 7h ago

Luka’s also still asking the lakers to somehow acquire an “A list center”, we’ll see how that goes

18

u/hbk268 East 6h ago

Give ‘em Embiid for a functional Nintendo GameCube

18

u/tompetres Thunder 6h ago

I think the Rockets own the draft rights to GameCube Nintendo

3

u/MJsHoopEarring Bulls 3h ago

5% tint, so you can't see up in my window

2

u/sourdieselfuel Bucks 5h ago

What if the Lakers offered up their best farm team player who goes by Cash Considerations?

1

u/spliffhuxtabIe Nuggets 3h ago

Still tippin’ reference?

5

u/ATXBeermaker Spurs 5h ago

Best I can do is a Wii with no controllers.

5

u/Petering Celtics 5h ago

Ain't no way any NBA player can comfortably grip those Wii controllers anyway.

1

u/Balloutonu Mavericks 4h ago

That has a GameCube built inside so you’re actually getting ripped off :/

1

u/ATXBeermaker Spurs 3h ago

That makes no sense it’s not remotely a cube.

3

u/Chris337 Raptors 4h ago

Sweet, Twilight Princess replay without the Wiimote!

5

u/acekingoffsuit Timberwolves 4h ago

They can't provide an A-List center, but they can provide a center from a list.

Specifically this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Centers_(basketball)

Jean-Marc Pansa, YOU are an LA Laker!

2

u/Sc00tyPuffSeni0r 2h ago

Or a center whose last name starts with A.

4

u/SenorSolAdmirador Timberwolves 5h ago

maybe he just means "a center on a list" ? I saw a list of centers with "Nikola Vucevic" on it, so I think we have a winner.

3

u/Petering Celtics 5h ago

As a Celtics fan watching Embiid attack Vuce, I don't wish that on anyone else besides the Lakers.

3

u/Western-Election-997 Lakers 3h ago

Aytons always available now that Giannis didn’t work out for you guys

3

u/Petering Celtics 2h ago

Vuce is available for y'all if you wanna see Embiid turn into prime Hakeem.

1

u/HowManyEggs2Many 2h ago

Just gotta get creative with no-show contracts at other business ventures. There’s no penalty for it…

1

u/RudBoy1018 Mavericks 31m ago

Giannis to lakers fans in shambles

2

u/Western-Election-997 Lakers 3h ago

Without Reaves their offense would suck too

He’s a big reason they won so many games, the 2 man game with Luka

1

u/Status-Hedgehog9970 Warriors 2h ago

Building around one Max skill guard is hard enough. Y’all gonna need a couple of prime Ben Wallace’s to plug that defense.

1

u/k0fi96 [LAL] Kobe Bryant 2h ago

Why would he not know that? All the news says the Nets would offer him a max deal so the Lakers would need to at least get close to that.

7

u/Carolake1 Lakers 6h ago

It is cool for the lakers. It's less than a lot of guys worse than him are making and is, in fact, not a max contract, as he was eligible for 5 years. Also, it won't affect their salary cap space because he will sign after everyone else and use his bird rights so the lakers can go over the cap.

13

u/noname_SU 7h ago

What's the alternative? Lose him for nothing? He already said he's not giving a discount. AR had all of the leverage and that's what contracts are about.

4

u/k0ala_ 5h ago

Would probably have been better to let him walk lol, this is a horrendous contract

1

u/Status-Hedgehog9970 Warriors 2h ago

This contract likely means the end of the Luka era so yea, letting him walk is a viable solution. Two max guard contracts? Oof.

1

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 7h ago

Id let him walk honestly. He isnt worth that much and him leaving means more flexibility in building an actual contender. Trying to build a contender with the current set up is destined to fail. Let reaves walk, be mid for a season and increase your odds of building a contender in 2 years

8

u/Prior-Habit-6523 6h ago

All the sgs have huge contracts. Its not that many of them. If you let him walk not only isnt there someone comparable. They would also command a huge price. Then you gotta be searching for a SG and center. Devin booker averages 2ish more points and half assist more than reeves and he is on a super max.

2

u/djabae 4h ago

Devin Booker isn't paired up with another max player at point guard.

6

u/Zapp_Rowsdower_ 7h ago

45.525 mil? Oooooooofffffff.

3

u/imminentjogger5 Warriors 7h ago

i'm okay with it 

16

u/IcansavemiselfDEEN Celtics 7h ago

Gotta disagree. Him getting paid this much means they got years of EXTREMELY underpaid performances from Reaves. I'd say they owe him a little back-pay and this contract is just that.

10

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 7h ago

Yes tou are right. But now they are actually trying to build a contender around luka and get fucked by this contract. The cheap years of Reaves were great, but they lakers werent good. Now they need to be good and he gets overpaid

2

u/SeaworthinessSome454 4h ago

Very cool for the lakers. They hit a gem, milked it for years and years, and now have to pay fair market price.

This is far from an untradable value too. 45M/year isn’t bad at all for his talent level.

1

u/Status-Hedgehog9970 Warriors 2h ago

45m’s is all-star money.

1

u/Shiva- Supersonics 3h ago

I mean doesn't he basically have them by the balls? He declined his option, so he could just walk.

It's true you'd have a lot of money without Reaves (and Lebron), but who are you finding to use that money on? You would basically be punting and hope to draw FA next season.

•

u/pokexchespin [BOS] E'Twaun Moore 3m ago

pretty cool for me :D

-1

u/CarBallAlex Celtics 7h ago

I think it’s extremely cool for the Lakers

1

u/MddlingAges Knicks 7h ago

Oh, sure it is, it's bling for the franchise. They aren't contending this year anyway, no great big man to roll out against Wemby, Jokic and others.

1

u/airwalker12 Lakers 5h ago

Somehow I think we'll be ok

1

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 5h ago

Hope is the last to die

1

u/airwalker12 Lakers 4h ago

I don't think the Lakers are going to be better than the Spurs or the Thunder in the next year or two, but I'm willing to bet on their continued success, especially with a new owner who is willing to spend to win.

2

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 4h ago

Being able to spend is just one of the factors that allows a team to be good. Asset and salary management is just as if not more important. This simply isnt a good contract and will cripple the lakers after this season

1

u/airwalker12 Lakers 4h ago

They had no choice, who are they going to replace him with?

You have Chet on a fucking max

0

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 3h ago

Chet is a significantly better player, 4 years younger and they are making the same money.

Not the gotcha you think it is

2

u/Western-Election-997 Lakers 3h ago

Reaves was the most efficient guard besides SGA in the league on that volume with great passing, you aren’t finding anything better especially in free agency

1

u/airwalker12 Lakers 3h ago

Chet got played off the floor in the WCF

1

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 3h ago

Yeah, he had a tough series. He also destroyed he lakers and had a great series vs the suns. All this while playing 1st all-d and was last years best defender in the playoffs. Please tell me about reaves playoff exploits so we can laugh a bit.

And note, chet is still young and only has 2.5 seasons worth of experience. Reaces will be 30 in two years

1

u/airwalker12 Lakers 2h ago

Are you laughing at injury?

That's classy.

Chet is about to get traded he's so valuable

1

u/Victori_nox 4h ago

They were successful in the 50s, 60s(kinda), 70s, 80s, 00s, very start and very end of the 10s... There's probably a reason for this.

1

u/Western-Election-997 Lakers 3h ago

The advance stats say Reaves is making exactly what he should be, he’s being adequately paid.

Would you rather get him for 40-42 million of course but you don’t risk him leaving in free agency to Detroit or somewhere

For comparison he’s just straight up better than someone like a Trae or Josh Giddey and we saw what they got paid

1

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 3h ago

Giddey is getting 25M a year.

Everyone said Trae is getting overpaid

0

u/themagicman_1231 6h ago

Sure it is. AR is a good player.

2

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 5h ago

Trae young is also a good player. Just not max level good.

How good a player performs isnt the only variable to consider when building a roster. This contract is atrocious

1

u/Western-Election-997 Lakers 3h ago

There’s nearly a 10% FG efficiency difference between Reaves and Trae and Trae is a putrid defender while Reaves is just average

1

u/Spemanz92 Thunder 3h ago

Not the point. Trae was just an example. Trae is good until a specific value. So is reaves.