Lakers Rumors: Austin Reaves Projected To Earn Big Raise As 2023 Free Agent

Will L.A. retain the shooting guard after a breakout season?

Los Angeles Lakers reserve shooting guard Austin Reaves looks to be in for quite the payday this summer.

Appearing on the Late Night Lake Show podcast last week, The Athletic's Jovan Buha revealed that Reaves could be in line to earn more than another beloved recent undrafted Lakers find, Alex Caruso, earned in his free agency. 

Caruso, a 6'4" combo forward widely now considered to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, inked a four-year, $37 million deal with the Chicago Bulls, but not before approaching the Lakers front office and inquiring as to whether they'd be interested in matching his deal.

“From what I’ve heard on that, it’s going to be more than Caruso money, that’s for sure. It’s going to be double [digit millions annually],” Buha told LNLS hosts Ricky Barnes and Omar Siddiqi.

Reaves, 24, was picked up by the Lakers after going undrafted out of  the University of Oklahoma in 2021. He inked a two-way deal with L.A. during the 2021 offseason, before he showed the team enough in training camp to see that deal converted to a two-year, $2,488,776 contract on the team's standard 15-man roster. This season, he has emerged as one of the struggling 14-21 Lakers' better -- and most durable -- players.

Through 33 contests (including 10 starts), the 6'5" swingman is averaging 10.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.6 steals a night across 29.1 minutes, while posting stellar shooting splits of .516/.382/.904.

Because the Lakers possess Reaves's Early Bird rights, L.A. can sign Reaves, one of the team's own incumbent free agents, to a deal without worrying about its impact on the team's salary cap, Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors notes. Reaves's two-year non-standard rookie scale deal will make him a restricted free agent, but thanks to the Gilbert Arenas provision in the current CBA, the Lakers can match any deal tendered to Reaves should they so choose. 

Essentially, assuming Los Angeles is open to paying into the luxury tax, it can keep Austin Reaves. But will it?