Austin Reaves is officially staying with the Los Angeles Lakers. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Reaves has agreed to a four-year, $185 million maximum contract with the Lakers, declining his $14.9 million player option to cash in on the richest deal for an undrafted player in NBA history.
The contract includes a player option for the final year in the 2029-30 season. Reaves will sign his deal last after the Lakers have used whatever cap room they choose to spend this summer. The question hanging over this move is whether there is enough left to keep LeBron James in purple and gold.
Can the Lakers Afford to Keep LeBron James?
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Reaves deal does not actually change the Lakers’ cap picture right now. His $20.9 million cap hold was already accounted for in their projected cap room, and his $41.3 million first-year salary does not touch the books until the team is done spending.
The Lakers and Austin Reaves agreed to a four-year maximum contract his new $185M contract. Here’s how that deal will look:
26-27: $41.3M
27-28: $44.6M
28-29: $47.9M
29-30: $51.2M (player option)Reaves’ deal will get signed after the Lakers use their cap space, should they…
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 24, 2026
Keith Smith’s year-by-year breakdown tells the rest of the story: $41.3 million in 2026-27, rising to $44.6 million, then $47.9 million, and a $51.2 million player option in 2029-30. It is a big number, but the structure is designed specifically so it does not squeeze Los Angeles out of the summer market before they are ready.
Where things get genuinely tricky is James’ situation. His cap hold is $57.75 million on the Lakers’ books right now, so until Los Angeles re-signs him or renounces his Bird rights, that figure counts against the cap.
The most realistic path to meaningful cap flexibility still runs through James decision. If the Lakers renounce his Bird rights, they could free up somewhere in the region of $50 million to build around Luka Dončić and Reaves before circling back to James and attempting to bring him back on the room mid-level exception, worth $9.4 million.
However, that route asks James to take a significant pay cut from what he earned last season ($52.6 million), and there is no indication yet that he is willing to do that. If he wants something closer to his market value, it will be extremely difficult for the Lakers to add any other significant contributors this summer.
None of that changes what Reaves’ deal means in isolation. He averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds this season alongside Dončić and earned every dollar of this contract. Getting him locked in was always the plan, considering the impact he’s had in recent seasons.
