Austin Reaves Talks New Lakers Contract, Says He 'Didn't Like' Free Agency Amid Pistons, Nets Rumors

Austin Reaves had his first free agency stint this offseason and was one of the top players on the market.

Now, having signed a four-year, $185 million deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, Reaves is happy to be off the market.

"I didn't like it," Reaves told The Athletic's Dan Woike. "It was weird. It just was, I mean, it's just a lot of 'What ifs.' I just like to know where I'm going to be."

Reaves reached new heights with the Lakers this season despite battling injuries. The former undrafted player put up 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds, firmly establishing himself as an All-Star caliber player.

With a relatively quiet free agency market, Reaves was arguably the biggest available player aside from his teammate, LeBron James. Reaves was unranked coming out of high school and held just a handful of collegiate offers, so that kind of attention is likely a new experience for him.

The Brooklyn Nets and Detroit Pistons reportedly pursued Reaves, but he opted to stay with the team he's spent his entire career with.

"I mean, it was a breath of fresh air because I hadn't stopped thinking about where I was going to be. And it's just like a sigh of relief," he said in a phone interview Wednesday. "I mean, regardless of whatever played out, I'm obviously grateful and in a good position to take care of the people I love. My heart's been in L.A. Every morning I wake up, I'm just like, 'I hope we can get this done today.'

"And even if I was frustrated through the process when we (weren't) getting the numbers we wanted, the next morning I woke up, it was still the same thing: 'Hopefully we can get this done today.'"

Reaves' deal is the biggest ever for a former undrafted player.

Once informed that his representatives and the Lakers had agreed on a deal, Reaves sprawled out in the grass on a golf course, relieved for the process to be over.

Now having re-signed Reaves, the Lakers will look to continue building up their roster around him, Luka Dončić and potentially James, if he opts to return to Los Angeles.