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On Friday, June 30, at 6 p.m. New York time, teams across the NBA can begin to talk to free agents, which will mean the official start of the player movement period around the league.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a number of players who will become free agents at that time, including D’Angelo Russell, Dennis Schroder, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves. However, Hachimura and Reaves will be restricted free agents, which means the team will be allowed to match any offers they receive from other teams.
On Tuesday evening, Los Angeles extended qualifying offers to both players to officially make them restricted free agents.
As expected, the Lakers have made qualifying offers to Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the team announced. Both players are now officially restricted free agents, giving LAL the right to match any outside offer to retain them
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 28, 2023
In particular, Reaves could command a big contract from another squad, such as the Houston Rockets or San Antonio Spurs, but the Lakers are reportedly going to do whatever it takes financially to keep him.