Austin Reaves, an upcoming restricted free agent, says he hopes to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The second-year guard sat down with Stadium's Shams Charania to discuss his breakout 2022-23 season, his early experiences scrimmaging alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, and his first foray into NBA free agency (not counting his brief availability after he opted to go unselected in the 2022 NBA Draft so he could sign with the Lakers).

“Yeah, I want to be a Laker,” he stated. “Obviously, they gave me the first opportunity. I was a huge Laker fan growing up, big Kobe fan. So, you know, honestly, just to be able to play for the Lakers organization is special, and I want to be a Laker. So, hopefully, we can get this done I can stay there, for hopefully my whole career.”

Reaves, 24, has previously expressed his desire to re-sign with the Lakers while acknowledging his wish to “want to make as much money as I can and be as successful as I can no matter where it’s at.”

The money part is where it gets complicated. Due to the Lakers' decision to ink the undrafted free agent to a two-year deal — instead of three — and his unexpected production, Reaves' situation will trigger the “Arenas Rule” (named after Gilbert Arenas), which applies to late-round picks or undrafted players who wildly outperform expectations.

To oversimplify things, the maximum contract the Lakers can offer Reaves is four years, $50.8 million — basically the non-taxpayer midlevel exception. Another organization with upwards of $24 million in cap space (i.e. the San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, perhaps more) can make Reaves a back-loaded offer of four years, $98 million, with the final two years being worth up to $60 million. The Lakers can then match that, or any, offer. (Here's a more detailed breakdown.)

It's unlikely that Reaves will command that much in free agency, though rival teams can clog up the Lakers' future cap sheet — and hike up their luxury tax bill — by making an offer above market value. The Lakers infamously allowed another undrafted discovery, Alex Caruso, to sign elsewhere for tax reasons.

Reaves has been the Lakers' third-best player for most of the 2022-23 season as the Lakers have increasingly relied on him as a playmaker and shot-creator. Reaves is averaging 16.5 points and 5 assists per game on .577/.456/.843 shooting splits since Feb. 9.

Darvin Ham recently called Austin “one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached” and said he looks “forward to him having many more great years in the purple and gold.”