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A possible win-win deal for both Reaves & LA

by October 15, 2025 2 Comments

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  1. FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

    Austin Reaves Next Contract
    Bringing things back around to Austin Reaves and his next deal…it’s likely to come with Los Angeles. The Lakers love Reaves and he loves being a Laker. Despite making it clear that there won’t be an extension signed, both Reaves and the Lakers have said that they intend for their partnership to continue. That leaves the question of:

    What’s a fair value for Reaves on his next deal?

    We’ve already covered that the Lakers can use cap space while retaining Reaves’ cap hold. That means that there is no reason to “fit him in” around signing other players. If the team goes the cap space route, the Los Angeles should still be able to avoid being a luxury tax team too. A starting salary of $32 million for the 2026-27 season would rank Reaves at 58th among all players, and 29th among guards. For reference, that would drop the Lakers guard in a salary neighborhood among Tyler Herro, Dejounte Murray, Immanuel Quickly, Jalen Suggs, Aaron Gordon, Derrick White, Andrew Wiggins and Jalen Johnson.

    That feels about the correct spot, as some of those players are overpaid, some are underpaid and some feel just about right.

    If Reaves’ starting salary nudged up to $35 million for the 2026-27 season, he’d be the 49th highest player overall and 23rd among all guards. His salary neighbors then become Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant, Jordan Poole, Mikal Bridges and Julius Randle. That’s an even more eclectic mix, despite the first-year salary bumping up by just $3 million. If the Lakers are concerned about long-term money, they could pitch the idea of starting Reaves high at $35 million, then having the contract descend year to year. Having a higher salary in 2026-27 shouldn’t be an issue, as Los Angeles shouldn’t have any tax concerns. Then, having Reaves on a lower number in the out years will be important for when Luka Doncic eventually signs a 35% of the cap max.

    Here’s what that deal could look like for Reaves and the Lakers:

    2026-27: $35,000,000
    2027-28: $32,200,000
    2028-29: $29,400,000
    2029-30: $26,600,000
    2030-31: $23,800,000 (player option)
    Total: five years, $147,000,000

    Given that something in the range of $150 million over five years seems fair for Reaves and the Lakers in terms of total value, this structure should be workable. Maybe the Lakers have to go a bit higher in first-year salary, but that shouldn’t be an issue. They’ll have an idea of how far they can go without tripping into tax territory.

    The other beneficial part of this structure is that the deal would be extendable. The Lakers could easily extend Reaves off of the $26.6 million he’d be making in 2029-30. He’d be in his early-30s at that point, and a deal that bumps up to $30 million would be fair value, assuming Reaves continues to be a productive player over the next handful of seasons.

    Summary

    The Los Angeles Lakers and Austin Reaves are going to sign a new contract, barring something really unexpected. It’s just not going to happen until the summer of 2026. And that’s fine, because by then the Lakers should have more clarity on what’s happening with LeBron James and their potential cap space plans.

    The key for Reaves is getting paid, after outplaying his current deal. The key for Los Angeles is managing their cap sheet and roster-building ability around max deals for Luka Doncic. The good news? Both things are well within range, given the great relationship between Reaves and the Lakers. There will be some negotiating, of course, but it would be a surprise to see Reaves playing anywhere but Los Angeles after this season.

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