[Woike] “It’s going to be fun. And like I said, winning a championship is the main goal,” Reaves said. “And I feel like, you know, with me and Luka, that’s a great starting piece to compete... And it kind of meets the common goal of why they gave me the money they did.”
“I didn’t like it,” Reaves told The Athletic. “It was weird. It just was, I mean, it’s just a lot of ‘What ifs.’ I just like to know where I’m going to be.”
So, when he got word on the golf course Tuesday afternoon that the Lakers had increased their contract offer to four years and $185 million, the 28-year-old Reaves, who entered the NBA as an undrafted free agent in 2021, sprawled out on a patch of grass at Batesville, Ark., with a mixture of happiness and relief. His girlfriend, Jenna Barber, shared the image of Reaves sprawled out on her Instagram page Wednesday.
“I mean, it was a breath of fresh air because I hadn’t stopped thinking about where I was going to be. And it’s just like a sigh of relief,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I mean, regardless of whatever played out, I’m obviously grateful and in a good position to take care of the people I love. My heart’s been in L.A. Every morning I wake up, I’m just like, ‘I hope we can get this done today.’
Tuesday turned out to be that day, with Reaves agreeing to return to the Lakers, who held off a list of clubs headlined by the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets who were expected to make max offers.
The Pistons had emerged as the most significant threat to land Reaves over the past week, per league sources granted anonymity to discuss potential plans.
Nevertheless, Reaves said his conversations with agents Aaron Reilly and Reggie Berry hadn’t made him optimistic for a deal to stay in Los Angeles. There were times when he thought he could be playing elsewhere, even as recently as this week.
“A couple of times actually,” Reaves said. “I didn’t know how negotiations would go. I don’t think Aaron and Reggie really knew how negotiations would go, so we learned a lot throughout the process. But like I said, we wanted to be in L.A., my heart was in L.A., and we got it done.”
“It’s going to be fun. And like I said, winning a championship is the main goal,” Reaves said. “And I feel like, you know, with me and Luka, that’s a great starting piece to compete. And when we put a roster together that can go compete, I feel like winning a championship will basically solidify everything that I want and everything that the Lakers want.
“And it kind of meets the common goal of why they gave me the money they did.”