Why Spurs Didn't Sign Lakers' Austin Reaves in Free Agency

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves had interest signing with the San Antonio Spurs, but a deal never came into fruition.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 28, 2023

Why Spurs Didn't Sign Lakers' Austin Reaves in Free Agency /

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are content with how their offseason has gone, but that doesn't mean they acquired every player they wanted.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves was on the Spurs' radar before he signed a four-year, $56 million contract with the team.

"The Spurs considered offering Reaves a restricted free agency sheet worth $21 million per season, league sources told HoopsHype. Ultimately, however, the Spurs were scared off by the widespread belief that the Lakers would match any offer sheet for Reaves and chose to preserve cap space as a salary dump destination for future draft pick compensation," HoopsHype said.

The Lakers were keen on re-signing Reaves no matter what kind of offer he would have received from other teams, but the Rockets and Spurs certainly would have offered something better than the $56 million he got considering how much cap space both Texas teams have.

Restricted free agency can be tricky and a difficult game to play in the midst of all the unrestricted free agents signing, and the Spurs opted not to play that game.

With that cap space, the Spurs didn't sign outside free agents, but rather became a third team to facilitate trades. San Antonio acquired Cedi Osman, Reggie Bullock and Cam Payne in three separate deals.

Osman and Bullock are players who can help space the floor, while Payne is someone who could do wonders in the pick-and-roll for Victor Wembanyama.

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Published Jul 28, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.