Lakers Rumors: At Least 1 Team Will Give Austin Reaves Bigger Contract Than LA Wants

Austin Reaves' breakout season has put him in a position to be priced out of what the Los Angeles Lakers might feel comfortable offering him.

Per NBA insider Marc Stein, there will "definitely" be at least one team that presents Reaves with a contract offer that exceeds what the Lakers want to pay.

The Lakers signed Reaves to a two-year contract as an undrafted free agent in August 2021. He's set to become a restricted free agent this summer, which does give Los Angeles the ability to match any offer sheet he might receive from another club.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium noted earlier this week the maximum amount the Lakers can offer right now is just above $50 million over four years, but teams with cap space could present the 24-year-old with an offer sheet "way, way higher" than $50 million.

In March, Danny Leroux of The Athletic noted the Gilbert Arenas provision in the collective bargaining agreement does help Reaves' negotiating leverage.

The provision limits the first-year salary an opposing team can offer a restricted free agent with only one or two years of NBA experience. Annual raises in an offer sheet are limited to five percent between years one and two and 4.5 percent between years three and four, but they can include a significant raise from year two to year three.

Leroux's example had Reaves making less than $12 million in each of the first two years before a jump to $36.85 million in year three and a total of $98.7 million for four years.

"That makes it an all-or-nothing proposition for both the Lakers and potential suitors, and the Arenas provision creates a fascinating dynamic because there is a scenario in which the Lakers can pay Reaves more than they can sign him to themselves but only if another team actually makes the bid and is willing to tie up its cap space as the Lakers decide whether or not to match," Leroux wrote.

Adding to the drama of Reaves' contract is figuring out what direction the Lakers want to take going forward. They have advanced to the Western Conference finals after remaking their roster at the trade deadline, but D'Angelo Russell, Dennis Schröder and Lonnie Walker IV are set to become free agents.

Malik Beasley has a $16.5 million team option for next season. Rui Hachimura, who is shooting 54.5 percent from three-point range in the playoffs, is going to be a restricted free agent with Reaves this summer.

There were also rumblings that Kyrie Irving could be a free-agent target for the Lakers, though The Athletic's Tim Cato reported on May 1 they are "uninterested" in signing the point guard.

Reaves established himself as a vital piece of head coach Darvin Ham's rotation this season. He averaged 13.0 points per game and made 39.8 percent of his three-point attempts during the regular season.

In 14 playoff games, Reaves has been even better with 16.4 points per contest and a 43.2 percent success rate from behind the arc.