Lakers' Championship Future Depends on Reaves, Rui Hachimura Contracts Amid FA Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers' NBA championship aspirations are on life support, as they're down 3-0 to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. They might not be back to the same stage next season if they fail to keep their young players in place this offseason.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported last week that the Lakers want to re-sign Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell, all of whom will be free agents in July (h/t B/R's Paul Kasabian). However, longtime NBA insider Marc Stein wrote "there will definitely be a team or two that offers more than the Lakers want to spend" for Reaves.

Reaves and Hachimura have been essential role players in L.A.'s run to the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers need to keep both to take advantage of the veteran presence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis to bring Hollywood its 18th title.

Hachimura has been solid off the bench for the Lakers since coming over ahead of the trade deadline. He averaged 9.6 points in 22.4 minutes per game with them during the regular season and 12.3 points in 23.1 minutes per game across the Lakers' first 15 playoff games. Wojnarowski said the Lakers traded for Hachimura "with the idea they're going to have a long future with him."

Meanwhile, Reaves has been a significant contributor as part of the starting lineup following the departures of Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook earlier in the season. He averaged 13.0 points per game in the regular season and is third on the team in scoring this postseason. He has complemented James and Davis well and has brought the team some of the edge and youthful swagger it needed.

Throw in Russell's contributions as the fourth-leading scorer for the team in the playoffs, and you have plenty of reason for the Lakers to be determined to bring those three back next season.

The organization spent the last three years learning the hard way how difficult it is to surround the central figures of the team with a supporting cast that can compete for a title. Now that it has done that, it is imperative to ensure those players remain in place.

Financially, it will be difficult to retain all three. The most that the Lakers can offer Reaves is in around $50 million over four years, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Other teams will be able to exceed that, although the Lakers will have an opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs with another team.

The Lakers must sell Reaves on the specialness of the situation and the opportunity to chase a championship with one of the greatest players in NBA history. Reaves can go get a bag from another team, but will he be in a position to regularly compete for a title?

The same argument can be made for Hachimura (restricted) and Russell (unrestricted).

If the Lakers let Reaves, Hachimura and Russell walk this offseason, they'll be essentially right back where they started, with two aging veterans leading the way and no sign of young stars around them to ensure depth and prosperity.

The Lakers cannot afford to be in that spot again, making the re-signing of their future core that much more critical.