In a season that has not gone all that well for the Los Angeles Lakers, the continued development of second-year guard Austin Reaves has been one of the team's lone bright spots. So much so that it's possible this coming off-season, his current play could force the Lakers to push further into the luxury tax in order to re-sign him. He has set himself up to command a sizeable salary as Jovan Buha of The Athletic mentioned on a recent episode of The Late Night Lake Show Podcast.

“From what I've heard, it's going to be more than [Alex] Caruso money, that's for sure,” Buha said. “It's going to be double-digits.”

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Austin Reaves is set to hit restricted free agency this offseason and according to Buha, his new contract will likely be higher than what former Laker Alex Caruso signed in the 2021 offseason. The Lakers have been widely criticized for not doing more to re-sign Caruso who departed for the Chicago Bulls. Caruso signed a deal paying him around $9.25 million per season and Reaves is expected to command more per year.

The Lakers do have more working in their favor though when it comes to Reaves. He is a restricted free agent meaning the Lakers can match any offer he receives from another team. The Gilbert Arenas rule also comes into play in that other teams are limited in what they can offer a non-first round pick in free agency. The Lakers signed Reaves as an undrafted free agent in the 2021 off-season.

After a solid rookie season, Reaves has become arguably the Lakers most dependable role player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. This season he is putting up 11.2 points per game while shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 39.6 percent from three-point range.