Lakers News: Austin Reaves Returning To LA On Long-Term Contract

Holy contract steal, Batman!

Los Angeles team president Rob Pelinka has long since redeemed his ignominious summer of 2021, but this year's low-key awesome free agent run just continues to burnish his LA legacy.

Now, the top free agent priority of Pelinka's summer is back in the fold, for a lot this than yours truly expected he'd fetch.

Restricted free agent shooting guard Austin Reaves has agreed to terms on a four-year, $56 million Early Bird maximum deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Per Charania, the contract includes a player option for the fourth season of the deal, meaning Reaves could enter unrestricted free agency ahead of the 2026-27 season. There is also a 15% trade kicker in the deal (essentially designed to disincentivize LA from moving him). The team also included the "maximum advance allowable," Charania writes.

It's shocking to yours truly that no rival team opted to tender an offer sheet to Reaves. Los Angeles was limited to offering him the deal it did, but another club could have signed him to a maximum deal of $98.7 million at the start of free agency last night. The Lakers would have been able to match under the Arenas Rule. It was widely expected that LA would match any offer, but even still, driving up his price on what would have been a poison pill deal. He would have been paid an annual salary capped at the midlevel exception for the first two years of the contract, but would have split the remaining $72 million+ in the final two seasons of the agreement.

The 6'5" swingman out of Oklahoma enjoyed a breakout 2022-23 NBA season. By the end of the year, he had clearly established himself as the Lakers' third-best player, behind you-know-who.

In 64 games last season, the 25-year-old posted averages of 13 points on .529/.398/.864 shooting splits, 3.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 0.5 steals. Across 16 playoff contests, he boosted those tallies to 16.9 points on .464/.443/.895 shooting splits, 4.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 0.6 steals a night.

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