Lakers Rumors: 'Concern' Austin Reaves Will Get Contract Offer 'Way' over $50M in FA

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly concerned guard Austin Reaves will receive a contract offer this season well in excess of $50 million over four years.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium broke down the potential financial crisis facing the Lakers this summer.

Reaves will be a restricted free agent, which gives the Lakers the right to match any offer sheet from another team. However, we've seen this Lakers front office balk at opening up the purse strings in recent seasons—notably allowing Alex Caruso to walk to the Chicago Bulls in 2021.

Caruso signed a four-year, $37 million deal with the Chicago Bulls and has blossomed into one of the NBA's best defensive guards, earning first-team All-Defensive honors this season. The Lakers allowed him to walk over luxury tax concerns and instead inked Talen Horton-Tucker to a three-year, $30.8 million deal that quickly went sour.

Reaves averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds while emerging as a consistent role player in the rotation. He was particularly impressive during a stretch of games the Lakers played without LeBron James, averaging 17.4 points and 5.7 assists in the month of March.

While it's unlikely Reaves will ever develop into a star, it's clear the Lakers have unearthed a player who could be a long-term starter.

That makes the team's decision to only sign Reaves to a two-year contract out of college all the more painful. Those shortened contracts have come back to bite general manager Rob Pelinka, with Horton-Tucker and now Reaves facing free agency before they would with other teams, which typically want three- or four-year pacts with heavy non-guarantees for second-round and undrafted rookies.

Even if it comes at an uncomfortable cost, there's no justification for a team with the Lakers' bankroll continuing to allow players like Caruso and Reaves to walk.