Lakers' Austin Reaves Will Have Pressure with New Contract amid Spurs, Rockets Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have a plan for the post-LeBron James era that revolves around Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves.

While James may be entering his final season with the Lakers, Davis will be eligible for a contract extension on August 4. Los Angeles hasn't said much publicly about his contract status, but the buzz suggests that L.A. would prefer to keep him long-term.

"Anthony Davis in [general manager] Rob [Pelinka's] estimation is someone that has represented the Lakers really well, citing how he played through his foot injury last year as a major reason why they won a championship in 2020 and he wants to continue to have Anthony Davis as a Laker," McMenamin said on The Lowe Post podcast (h/t Zach Stevens of Lakers Daily).

Reaves, of course, was signed to a new four-year, $53.8 million deal this offseason. That's a lot for a 25-year-old player with just two years of experience. However, it turns out that L.A. may have gotten a bargain.

According to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, both the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs were interested in Reaves this offseason. Per Scotto, the Spurs were willing to offer a substantially larger contract.

"The Spurs considered offering Reaves a restricted free agency sheet worth $21 million per season, league sources told HoopsHype. Ultimately, however, the Spurs were scared off by the widespread belief that the Lakers would match any offer sheet for Reaves. ...The Rockets were also closely monitoring Reaves' situation because they were prepared to make a big offer sheet if Fred VanVleet didn't sign with them."

Throughout the offseason, reports indicated that L.A. would be willing to match any offer sheet for Reaves. Entering free agency, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Lakers were a "lock" to match any offer, including a max $100 million deal.

If that's information that the Lakers wanted out there, their plan to keep Reaves at a discount worked.

Whenever James departs, a tandem of Davis and Reaves represents a core around which Los Angeles can build. However, it that will leave Reaves in very unfamiliar territory.

Davis is an eight-time All-Star who has been the central figure of an NBA roster before. If he becomes the new leader post-James, it won't be too different from his time with the New Orleans Pelicans.

While Reaves looks to be an emerging star and became Los Angeles' third-best player behind James and Davis this past season, he's never been asked to truly carry a team. In a year or so, he'll likely be tasked with that responsibility.

It would seem that the Lakers are already working to prepare Reaves as an offensive focal point.

"The Lakers plan on running more of their offense through Reaves next season, unlocking the point guard skills he's flashed through his first two years in the league," Buha wrote on July 1.

Can Reaves rise to that challenge? It's tough to say because we haven't seen him tackle it often, aside from stretches when James and Davis were injured over the past two seasons.

Reaves' contract will also place high expectations on the Oklahoma product. The Lakers and their fans will expect him to play up to the $13.5 million-per-year salary he's set to collect. Not only that, but they'll probably expect him to justify the $21 million salary he could have gotten if he had signed elsewhere or even the $25-million-per-year contract the Lakers were reportedly willing to sign.

While Reaves probably won't expected to become a perennial All-Star right away, he'll be expected to be on par with players like Buddy Hield and Mike Conley—quality players in that low-$20-million-per-year range.

And, contract aside, the spotlight will be on Reaves because it's Los Angeles, it's the Lakers, and with James gone, he'll become one of the faces of the franchise. Some players wilt under the spotlight, and the pressure will be on Raves this season to prove that he isn't one of them.