The Lakers locked up Austin Reaves on a historic deal, but the bigger offseason question remains on LeBron James' return, and at what cost?
The Los Angeles Lakers have several big decisions to make this offseason, and they knocked a major one out of the way with star shooting guard Austin Reaves.
Reaves agreed to a four-year, $185 million maximum deal with the franchise as one of their big three franchise pillars. The extension has a player option in 2029-30.
It’s the largest contract in NBA history awarded to an undrafted player.
Reaves’ extension won’t affect the franchise’s cap flexibility, and he intends to sign last after the team drains all their room. He stands to make $41.3 million in Year One.
The Detroit Pistons were a contender to try to lure Reaves with a max salary, but Los Angeles moved quickly to retain their star.
It does beg the question of what they intend to do next with their biggest unanswered mark, and that’s LeBron James.
To read more about the major extension and what it means for the team’s overall future this offseason, here’s the full story from Lakers Roundtable writer Grant Mona.
James is an unrestricted free agent, and the talks haven’t moved much with his camp and the Lakers.
While Reaves’ deal doesn’t affect the cap flexibility, it does show the franchise’s commitment to a backcourt of Luka Doncic and Reaves, and James, at 41-years-old, may be the odd man out.
Anything like his $52.6 million deal he was awarded last season would be much too high to retain the talent, and it would be a bit at odds with their younger core of Doncic and Reaves as the future.
Their sweep against the OKC Thunder showed real vulnerabilities on the team that should also take priority over the aging James, leading to some likely uncomfortable questions down the line, including whether James is willing to take a considerable discount.
