Austin Reaves: I Considered Fit With Wembanyama, Spurs But Wanted to Stay with Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves made clear in a recent interview that he wanted to stay in L.A. prior to the restricted free agent signing a deal to remain in town, but he did say that he wondered how a potential fit would be with 7'5" Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

Reaves made his remarks during the latest edition of The Lowe Post podcast with ESPN's Zach Lowe (four-minute mark).

"You know, it definitely creeps into your mind, obviously, when there's, you know, a little bit of talks back and forth about, you know, something possibly coming to light," Reaves said.

"But I didn't think there was any way that the Lakers didn't match what, you know, whatever was offered. They pretty much made it pretty clear that they were gonna match whatever. You think about it a little bit, but at the end of the day, I wanted to be in L.A.

"...You know you hear things, and obviously with Wembanyama, like, you know so much upside with him, you know, your mind kind of just wonders into that basketball world what that would be like."

Jovan Buha of The Athletic previously reported on Aug. 22 that the Spurs considered two offer sheets: a maximum offer of roughly $100 million over four years and another for three years and $60 million.

However, per Buha, "L.A.'s insistence that it would match any offer sheet Reaves signed scared off the Spurs and all other potential cap-space suitors."

Reaves ended up signing a four-year, $53.8 million contract to stay with the Lakers. His re-signing is a huge win for a Lakers team that made the Western Conference Finals last year thanks largely to the ex-Oklahoma star, who posted 16.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds in the 2023 playoffs.

As for the Spurs, they're rebuilding behind a potential generational talent and superstar in Wembanyama, who would probably be a great fit playing alongside anybody, including a jack-of-all-trades type in Reaves. However, those two will not be suiting up together with Reaves still in L.A.

Wembanyama's first scheduled matchup against the Lakers will be Dec. 13 in San Antonio.