The Los Angeles Lakers and Austin Reaves recently agreed to a $185 million contract. Rumors of a Reaves trade had swirled in the past, but now it appears that the star is set to remain in Los Angeles for years to come. Reaves, however, thought there was a chance he could end up elsewhere before the deal.
“A couple of times actually,” Reaves said of times he thought he could end up with another team, via Dan Woike of The Athletic. “I didn’t know how negotiations would go. I don’t think Aaron (Reilly) and Reggie (Berry) (Reaves' agents) really knew how negotiations would go, so we learned a lot throughout the process. But like I said, we wanted to be in L.A., my heart was in L.A., and we got it done.”
In the end, the contract came to fruition. Reaves is excited about staying with the Lakers.
The 28-year-old has emerged as a star in recent years. Although he was limited to only 51 games played a season ago, Reaves still averaged a career-best 23.3 points per game. He also recorded per game averages of 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals per outing. Reaves shot 49 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep as well.
The Lakers would obviously love to keep Luka Doncic in LA for the long-term future. At 41 years old, LeBron James' future with the team is uncertain. Finding ways to keep or add stars around Doncic is the goal right now. Keeping Reaves should help matters, but the Lakers will likely need to bring in one more star at some point.
For Reaves, it is a good situation. He does not have to be the best player on the team, but he will still have the opportunity to play an impactful role while making good money. If the Lakers construct their roster properly, Reaves should also have a tremendous opportunity to win alongside Doncic for years to come.
