The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to retain Austin Reaves in free agency as he becomes an unrestricted free agent after opting out of his $14 million player option. 

Reaves signed with the Lakers as a two-way player in 2021, working his way into a bonafide starter and one of the top offensive players in the league. 

Reaves is coming off the bench season of his career, averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on 49% shooting from the field and 36% shooting from three. 

Luka Doncic, who the Lakers traded for in 2025, is under contract for at least two more seasons before his player option will need to be decided upon in the 2028 offseason. 

The Lakers can offer Reaves a maximum five-year deal worth up to $241 million. It is unclear if they will give him the max offer, but he is expected to get a deal worth around $40 million per year. That would have the Lakers committing roughly $90 million to two players. 

Dan Woike of The Athletic wrote about the Reaves-Doncic partnership, "Internally, there’s a strong desire to give Dončić the best-fitting teammates. And in addition to being a bit of a chameleon on the floor, Reaves fits a real roster need as a secondary playmaker who can create his own shot on the ball and be effective off of it. Provided the Lakers address other needs on the wing and at the rim, defensive concerns about a Dončić-and-Reaves pairing are overstated, one team source said. Reaves was also one of the most important voices inside the Lakers’ locker room a season ago, his leadership developing year over year.”

In short, yes. 

Luka has been great throughout his career when he's playing alongside another self-creator. Jalen Brunson and Luka went to the Western Conference Finals together in 2022. Kyrie Irving and Luka went to the NBA Finals together in 2024. 

As ball-dominant as Luka is, he still needs someone who can take the pressure off of him when he's forced to give it up, or another action needs to be run where he isn't as involved. 

Luka and Reaves had a +11.6 net rating when they shared the floor together this past season. By comparison, LeBron James and Luka had just a +1.2 net rating together. While Luka and Reaves would seem to be weak points on the defensive end, both players showed enough effort and fit into JJ Redick's scheme to where the weaknesses were covered enough to let their offense flourish. 

The Lakers also don't have many options if they end up losing Reaves. They can bring back LeBron for another season, but the fit alongside Luka isn't as good. It's a weak free agency class with no real replacement for Reaves, and their trade capital is limited. 

They need Reaves, no matter what the cost is.