Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is getting a significant raise this summer. He’s expected to opt out of his contract following a career season and enjoy the rewards. The Lakers plan to keep Reaves, but a new report suggests they’ll face strong competition.
Lakers Insider Reveals Potential Teams Interested In Signing Austin Reaves This Summer
Lakers insider Jovan Buha broke down Reaves’ free agent market on the latest episode of the HoopsHype show “Around The Beat” and revealed other teams interested in luring Reaves away from the Lakers.
Buha mentioned the Brooklyn Nets as a potential suitor, despite their recent draft picks. Egor Dёmin, the eighth overall pick in last year’s draft, showed signs of being a quality playmaker but shot 39.9% from the field in his rookie season.
Buha said, “I think there will be competition for his services if I’m Brooklyn or Chicago… I know Brooklyn drafted a million point guards and ball handlers last year, but I don’t think any of them project to be as good as Austin Reaves currently is.”
Fellow first-round picks Ben Saraf and Nolan Traoré also struggled with their shooting. Reaves would inject some life into one of the worst offensive teams in the league, but the Nets are far from contending.
Buha mentioned the Chicago Bulls as another team to watch. The organization signed guard Josh Giddey to a four-year, $100 million deal, and the Reaves signing would set up an explosive offensive backcourt with serious defensive limitations.
Buha added, “I think the sweet spot is probably going to be around five years, $200 million… But if you get that number down to around $35 million average annual, that’s where I could see Brooklyn, Chicago, Memphis, come in and outbid them by a little bit.”
Reaves likely would have made his first All-Star team this season if he hadn’t suffered a serious calf strain on Christmas against the Houston Rockets. He averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game this season and supplanted LeBron James as the Lakers’ secondary playmaker behind Luka Dončić.
Reaves suffered a left oblique strain near the end of the regular season, causing him to miss some playoff action.
However, he still averaged 20 points in six playoff games. Reaves emerged as one of the NBA’s top offensive combo guards and is now in a position to sign the largest contract by an undrafted player in league history.
Finally, Buha lists the Memphis Grizzlies, who are in the process of turning the page on the Ja Morant era. Reaves is arguably an upgrade over Morant at this point in their careers, and signing with the Grizzlies would make him the offensive hub around an interesting young core.
Ultimately, the Lakers remain the favorite to sign Reaves this summer, but he’ll have options if he wants to be the guy instead of playing next to Dončić.
