Did Los Angeles Lakers fans really just witness Austin Reaves go from random bench player to third star on a Western Conference Finals team? That's the reality we live in, folks.
With the season officially over for the purple and gold, the attention now shifts to being able to re-construct a supporting cast around LeBron James – assuming he doesn't actually retire – and Anthony Davis. Keeping Reaves has to be priority number one amongst their internal options, but many Lakers fans have feared that he might have gotten too good to keep.
LA can only offer him up to a $51 million contract across four years under the current CBA structure, with the max payout Austin Reaves could get from another team being almost double that at $100 million. One anonymous GM from a rival franchise is certain that he belongs in the same breath as other recent names that breached the century million mark.
“Someone is going to give him more than that ($51 million),” the GM said, via Heavy. “The guys who got four years and $100-$110 million last summer (Tyler Herro, Jordan Poole, R.J. Barrett, Jalen Brunson, Anfernee Simons), he should be in that group. He will get a little less than them, I am sure, but he deserves just as much.”
The Lakers can opt to match any Austin Reaves offers from rival teams, but the price would seriously hurt their salary cap health given that a $25 million annual salary combined with LeBron James and Anthony Davis' contracts would get the team close to the salary cap with just those three players.
Still, the Lakers are one of the highest value franchises employing the highest value player in the NBA. Biting the bullet and paying Reaves instead of watching him thrive elsewhere might still be the play for LA.
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