Lakers Rumors: NBA Insider Warns Teams to Avoid Austin Reaves in Free Agency

Should teams should think twice?

NBA free agency begins this Friday afternoon and the Lakers should be pretty active. Even if the team does indeed just bring back their core from last season that made a run to the Western Conference Finals, LA shouldn't wait long and finalize their roster. They have some targets that will take priority and one of those is restricted free agent guard Austin Reaves.

Reaves took a major jump during his second season with the Lakers and is now in line for a big contract. LA can offer him up to a four-year, around $51 million deal but other teams can go higher. Some in the game believe that rivals may look to drive up the price of Reaves for LA, even if they don't believe he will end up with them. But one writer is telling teams to stay away from the young guard.

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report has his thoughts:

"Any suitor that ties up its cap space by inking Reaves is wasting its time. The Lakers will match whatever offer sheet he signs."

Per Bleacher Report

It has been widely reported that the Lakers aren't letting Reaves go. Due to his restricted status, they will match any offer sheet that comes in and other teams can offer Reaves about double what LA can.

Luckily the Lakers can match offers if need be because the growth of Reaves has been massive. So Hughes is correct in telling teams to stay away from Reaves. While they could drive up the cost for the Lakers, filling out the paperwork would be a waste of time as they could be focusing on other players that would be more realistic for their needs.

Reaves is a very important piece to the Lakers championship puzzle and he has become a fan favorite during his short time with the team. LA knows his value and when the dust settles, Reaves will be signing a new contract to stay in Los Angeles.

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