Lakers News: How Rival Teams Could Use Austin Reaves' Free Agency Against LA

Can LA hold on to its starting shooting guard this summer?

Your Los Angeles Lakers have a bevy of critical free agent decisions to make this summer, not least of which is determining the fate of starting shooting guard Austin Reaves.

The 6'5" swingman out of the University of Oklahoma has enjoyed a breakout sophomore season in 2022-23, and could fetch a pretty penny this summer, opines Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

Reaves began his NBA career as a training camp signing, then became a two-way player before quickly joining the Lakers' 15-man standard roster for the team's ill-fated 2021-22 season. He will be a restricted free agent this summer, and is in line for a significant upgrade from his current $1,563,518 salary.

During the regular season, the 6'5" guard had been averaging 13 points on .529/.398/.864 shooting splits, 3.4 assists, and 3.0 rebounds a night. Though he enjoyed a big playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Reaves' output in LA's Golden State Warriors second round playoff series has been significantly more modest. Across 31.7 minutes a night, he's averaging just 8.5 points while shooting just 35% from the floor, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.

Due to the Arenas Rule, rival franchises could offer Reaves massive long-term money. Pincus notes that, if so inclined, a team with maximal cap space this summer could tender a four-year deal worth up to $98.7 million to Reaves (although that seems unlikely for a role player). In that scenario LA would still be able to pay Reaves a contract in the range of $11-12 million across the first two seasons of a new deal, but would have to pay him significantly more on the back end of the contract, $37-39 million over the final two seasons.

Pincus believes that Los Angeles will most likely match any offer for Reaves this summer, but thinks a club with cap room like the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Utah Jazz, among others, could try to overpay Reaves this summer to clog up the Lakers' cap space in the future.

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