Austin Reaves is $56 million richer this Sunday. After his best season in the NBA, Reaves earned a payday.
In the early stages of NBA free agency, the former Oklahoma Sooners guard agreed to a four-year deal to keep him in Los Angeles as a critical cog in the Lakers’ operation as they pursue a championship in the twilight of LeBron James’ career.
Reaves entered the free agency period as a restricted free agent, meaning the Lakers would have a chance to match any offer Reaves received.
Fortunately for general manager Rob Pelinka, it never came to that as Reaves was set on staying with the Lakers and accepted a max extension for a four-year $56 million deal, according to Shams Charania.
According to Charania, the contract includes a player option for the fourth season of the deal, meaning Reaves could enter unrestricted free agency ahead of the 2026-27 season.
RFA Austin Reaves has agreed to return to the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year, $56 million Early Bird maximum contract, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Agents Aaron Reilly and Reggie Berry of AMR Agency negotiated the new deal to keep Reaves in L.A. long term.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2023
The Lakers had no option but to bring back Reaves after the season he put together. GM Rob Pelinka outlined that intention following the conclusion of L.A.’s season. “I would say this resoundingly clear: Our intentions are to keep our core of young guys together.”, Pelinka told reporters before exit interviews.
The core mentioned above consists of Reaves, who had his breakout season in 2022-2023, including a fantastic stretch in the playoffs.
From the last 11 games of the regular season thru the entire Lakers’ playoff run, Reaves was the Lakers’ third-best player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. In 64 games last season, the 25-year-old posted averages of 13 points on .529/.398/.864 shooting splits, 3.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.5 steals.
Across 16 games in the pressure cooker of the NBA Playoffs, those numbers jumped to 16.9 points on .464/.443/.895 shooting, 4.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 0.6 steals a night.
Reaves showed up nightly and was tasked with closing games for the Lakers in the regular season and the playoffs.
Reaves went undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2021. The Lakers initially signed him to a two-way deal in the summer before converting his contract to a guaranteed roster spot shortly before training camp.
Now he’s earned the trust of his coaches and, most importantly, the trust of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The two superstars willingly deferred to him in the playoffs against Steph Curry and the Warriors dynasty.
https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1675221380671893505?s=20
With Reaves locked up for the long term, the Lakers are well-positioned to at least make it back to the Western Conference Finals this upcoming year. Part of the equation for helping them to do that is the continued growth of Austin Reaves. With how much he’s improved from season to season in the NBA, his ascension could help LA get over the hump and get back to the NBA Finals.
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