Lakers' Austin Reaves Worth Keeping at Any Price amid Contract Rumors Ahead of FA
If someone put a soundtrack to Austin Reaves' 2022-23 NBA season, it'd probably be a cash register ringing on loop.
The second-year guard has used this campaign—the final one on his current contract—to radically raise his profile.
That's mostly good news for the Los Angeles Lakers, who have needed all the help they can get to withstand the injury absence of LeBron James. Reaves has been rock-solid all season, but he's been particularly productive since James went down, averaging 17.7 points on 56.4/39.5/82.5 shooting and 5.3 assists over his past 11 outings.
The Association has absolutely taken note.
As Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium noted on FanDuel TV, Reaves' next deal is expected to net him "at least" $50 million over four seasons:
That's a big number. But it's not so big that it should scare off the Lakers.
They probably aren't operating with cap space this summer anyway, so it's not like there's a great opportunity cost in keeping Reaves.
When L.A. overhauled its supporting cast at the trade deadline, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka described the moves as "pre-agency." While L.A. didn't necessarily lock anyone into the long-term plans, the hope is several (if not all) of those additions will become core members of this club.
"If you look at Rui [Hachimura] and D'Angelo [Russell] and Mo Bamba and Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt, all guys that are 26 or under," Pelinka told reporters. "Three of those guys were top-10 picks in the draft recently. You could really start to see a young core crystalizing that gives us optionality for the future, but also gives us an improved team now to finish ... this season."
The Lakers want to buy into this nucleus—so long as these players give them a reason to do so.
Isn't that exactly what Reaves is doing?
It was one thing when he was simply a right-place, right-time role player. Those players are helpful but not essential, and they certainly don't carry a $50 million price tag.
But this recent surge suggests Reaves is capable of more if that's what the Lakers need. A lot more, actually.
Is it possible his recent play inspires an outside suitor to blow up his market? Theoretically, sure. As Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus detailed, a team with cap space could offer Reaves as much as $144.1 million over four seasons.
And guess what? If that becomes Reaves' going rate, the Lakers can thank him for his service, congratulate him on securing that kind of coin and let him walk.
But that's not happening. Teams aren't ponying up that much cash for a 24-year-old (25 in May) with career averages of 9.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
A realistic pay raise—that four-year, $50 million rate sounds about right—is one the Lakers should already have factored into the budget. There really is no debate over whether he's worth bringing back.
He's a reliable support player with this nucleus, and maybe he can lock down a bigger role going forward. That's a keeper at any (realistic) cost.
