Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is expected to become a free agent this summer and the Atlanta Hawks have interest in adding the playmaker.
The Atlanta Hawks are interested in signing Austin Reaves this offseason, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic.
Reaves is expected to decline his player option for next season with the Los Angeles Lakers and enter unrestricted free agency this offseason for the first time in his career.
Most people who cover the NBA expect the Lakers to re-sign Reaves, who has a close relationship with Luka Doncic and JJ Redick. However, until pen is put to paper, anything can happen in today's league.
For the Lakers this regular season, Reaves appeared in 51 games. He averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 49.0% from the field, 36.0% from beyond the arc and 87.1% from the free-throw line.
The 27-year-old Reaves is an undrafted player. He has been in the NBA since 2021. The guard holds career averages of 15.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the regular season and 17.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the playoffs. He helped the Lakers reach the Western Conference Finals in 2023.
Los Angeles beat the Houston Rockets in the first round of this year's playoffs in six games but got swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. Reaves missed Games 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Rockets series because of an oblique strain.
The Hawks lost to the New York Knicks in the first round in six games. Atlanta hasn't won a playoff series since 2021. That's the year Trae Young led the franchise to the conference finals.
Atlanta is building around Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the post-Young era. Adding Reaves to that core would make the Hawks one of the most explosive offensive teams in the NBA.
It will be fascinating to see what moves Atlanta's front office makes this summer to improve the roster around Johnson, who made his first All-Star and All-NBA team this season. Onsi Saleh will continue to run the show after getting promoted to president of basketball operations.
Along with having interest in Reaves, Atlanta enters the 2026 NBA Draft with two first-round picks (No. 8 and No. 23), in addition to the No. 57 pick. The Hawks are the only playoff team to secure a top-10 pick in this year's draft.
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