NBA Rumors: Lakers Will Match Austin Reaves Contract Offers Up to $100M

The Los Angeles Lakers are going to do everything in their power to retain Austin Reaves this summer.

Reaves is a restricted free agent this offseason, and the most the Lakers can offer him is four years and $54 million, which at this point is considered to be on the lower end of what he could receive elsewhere.

The 25-year-old can receive offer sheets from other franchises, and the Purple and Gold will have the opportunity to match anything coming Reaves' way. L.A. intends to match any offer sheet Reaves signs up to $100 million, The Athletic's Jovan Buha said on the HoopsHype podcast.

"He's priority No. 1 for the Lakers this offseason. I think they learned from the Alex Caruso situation," Buha said. "Frankly, I think this would be a bigger disaster than Caruso because Reaves is a better player, and he's shown more."

The Lakers failed to re-sign Caruso after the 2020-21 season and he went on to sign with the Chicago Bulls. He helped the Purple and Gold capture an NBA title in 2020, and the franchise's inability to re-sign him is viewed as a massive disappointment.

Reaves flourished in his second season with the Lakers, averaging 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 64 games while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 39.8 percent from deep.

He was even more impressive when LeBron James was sidelined with an injury from Feb. 28 through March 24, averaging 17.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 13 games while shooting 53.7 percent from the floor and 38.6 percent from deep.

In his first playoff run with the team this year, Reaves averaged an impressive 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 16 games while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and 44.3 percent from deep.

Reaves' performance helped the Lakers reach the Western Conference Finals, where they were swept by the Denver Nuggets.

Considering Reaves was a significant reason the Lakers were able to lock up a playoff spot following an abysmal start to the 2022-23 campaign, it's no surprise the franchise wants to keep him in 2023-24 and beyond.

Buha reported in March that Reaves and the Lakers had mutual interest in a new contract, and the guard told The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania in April that he wanted to spend his entire career with the Purple and Gold.

"I wanna be a Laker," Reaves said. "Obviously, they gave me the first opportunity. I was a huge Laker fan growing up, big Kobe [Bryant] fan, so honestly, just to be able to play for the Lakers organization is special, and I wanna be a Laker, so hopefully we can get this done, and I can stay there for hopefully my whole career."

Losing Reaves this summer would be disastrous for the Lakers, especially as they hope to get back to being a true title contender next season with James and Anthony Davis still on the roster.

Rui Hachimura was equally important to L.A.'s success down the stretch in 2022-23. The Lakers will also look to match any offer sheet he signs this offseason, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.