NBA
After signing a four-year contract extension, Austin Reaves looks forward to being a Lakers centerpiece along with Luka Dončić. Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images
Austin Reaves collapsed on the grass at The Course at Eagle Mountain. Talks with the Los Angeles Lakers about his free agency lasted only a week, but Reaves was fried.
Tuesday needed to be the last of it — for his sanity.
“I didn’t like it,” Reaves told The Athletic. “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.”
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So, when he got word on the golf course Tuesday afternoon that the Lakers had increased their contract offer to four years and $185 million, the 28-year-old Reaves, who entered the NBA as an undrafted free agent in 2021, sprawled out on a patch of grass at Batesville, Ark., with a mixture of happiness and relief. His girlfriend, Jenna Barber, shared the image of Reaves sprawled out on her Instagram page Wednesday.
“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.’”
Tuesday turned out to be that day, with Reaves agreeing to return to the Lakers, who held off a list of clubs headlined by the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets who were expected to make max offers.
The Pistons had emerged as the most significant threat to land Reaves over the past week, per league sources granted anonymity to discuss potential plans.
Other teams could’ve offered Reaves four years and more than $178.5 million. The Lakers could’ve offered Reaves five years and more than $240 million.
Reaves returns to a Lakers roster transitioning to one centered around Luka Dončić. The team could have more than $50 million in cap space to build that roster even with Reaves’ deal, which will officially be signed after the Lakers conclude their offseason business to give the team maximum flexibility.
But keeping Reaves ranked high among the Lakers’ priorities.
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In 51 games this past season, Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Only 11 other players averaged at least 23 points, four rebounds and five assists: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Dončić, Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell, Cade Cunningham, James Harden, Deni Avdija, Jaylen Brown and Giannis Antetokounmpo. When Reaves played alongside Dončić and LeBron James, the Lakers had a 20-9 record and plus-7.8 net rating, according to NBA.com.
Nevertheless, Reaves said his conversations with agents Aaron Reilly and Reggie Berry hadn’t made him optimistic for a deal to stay in Los Angeles. There were times when he thought he could be playing elsewhere, even as recently as this week.
“A couple of times actually,” Reaves said. “I didn’t know how negotiations would go. I don’t think Aaron and Reggie really knew how negotiations would go, so we learned a lot throughout the process. But like I said, we wanted to be in L.A., my heart was in L.A., and we got it done.”
The team has free agents in James, Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes. Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton each have player options. The Lakers are also actively trying to use their cap space as a tool to acquire talented players from teams with cap problems.
For now, Reaves and Dončić are on the roster, giving the Lakers their backcourt for the present and future and the building blocks for the moves the Lakers make next.
“It’s going to be fun. And like I said, winning a championship is the main goal,” Reaves said. “And I feel like, you know, with me and Luka, that’s a great starting piece to compete. And when we put a roster together that can go compete, I feel like winning a championship will basically solidify everything that I want and everything that the Lakers want.
“And it kind of meets the common goal of why they gave me the money they did.”
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