Austin Reaves Must Remain Lakers' Top Priority amid Latest NBA Free-Agency Rumors

The 2023 edition of NBA free agency is set to open at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, and the Los Angeles Lakers have a lot of work ahead of them.

Assuming LeBron James is returning for another run—which isn't guaranteed—the Lakers will be looking to gear up for another deep playoff push. They managed to piece together a competitive roster with in-season trades last year, but several key contributors could leave in the coming days.

D'Angelo Russell, Lonnie Walker IV and Dennis Schröder are all set to be unrestricted free agents, while Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura will be restricted free agents.

A lot of focus will be placed on Russell, Schröder and the point-guard position because that proved to be a weak point against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. According to The Athletic's Jovan Buha, the Lakers would eventually like to find a superior starter over Russell.

"Their preference is to find a superior player by either sign-and-trading Russell elsewhere in July or, more likely at this point, re-signing him and then potentially trading him later in the season for a better player or fit," Buha wrote on June 16.

If a better option comes along, the Lakers may pounce, but that feels unlikely to occur during the early offseason, since they will be relatively limited with external free agents and on the trade market. For that reason, they should make re-signing Russell—who was more than serviceable up until the Denver series—when the market opens.

However, Reaves' needs to be the Lakers' No. 1 priority in the coming days. He averaged a modest 13 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds over the course of the season, but he emerged as a legitimate No. 3 option behind James and Anthony Davis late in the season and in the playoffs.

According to Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation, L.A. targeted Jalen Hood-Schifino and Kobe Bufkin as insurance for Reaves in the first round of the draft.

"The reason the Lakers were so high on both guards is they saw them as potential replacements for Reaves should an offer sheet price them out of bringing the restricted free agent back, league sources tell Lakers Nation," he wrote.

While Los Angeles did land Hood-Schifino—Bufkin went 15th overall to the Atlanta Hawks—it would be in a much better position by having both him and Reaves under contract.

It would seem the Lakers recognize this and will be willing to match any offers that come Reaves' way.

"The Lakers, league sources say, are a lock to match any offer on Reaves—even if someone signs Reaves to the maximum allowable offer sheet worth nearly $100 million over four years," NBA insider Marc Stein wrote.

That's promising buzz for Lakers fans, though there's a big difference between being perceived as a "lock" to retain Reaves and actually doing what it takes to keep him.

The 2021 undrafted free agent is going to get offers, and they could reach that $100 million mark. The Lakers have to remain focused on locking up Reaves and willing to match those offers, both for the good of the coming season and the future.

Simply put, Reaves is the third-best player on the roster, and it's hard to envision Los Angeles making another title run if he signs an offer sheet elsewhere and is allowed to depart. Losing him could also be disastrous in the big picture, as the 25-year-old is a rising star who could become a long-term building block for the team.

There's a chance that the 2023-24 season is the Lakers' last with James and Davis. James has a player option next year, while Davis has an early termination option. The cupboard could be extremely bare if both depart and Reaves isn't part of a 2024 rebuild.

The Lakers aren't thinking about that rebuild just yet, but the future is coming, and Reaves has shown he can be an integral part of it.