Austin Reaves Reveals Possibility of Leaving Lakers on Andre Iguodala's Podcast

Austin Reaves wants to make as much money as possible.

If there's one player who deserves a huge pay raise this offseason, it's Austin Reaves. Reaves is currently only on a 2-year / $2,488,776 contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, but his play this season absolutely deserves a pay bump.

This season, Austin Reaves is averaging 12.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 52/38/86 shooting. What's more important is his recent play. During a 12-game span in the month of March, Reaves is averaging 18.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists on 56/38/83 shooting. His recent play was a huge reason why the Lakers have an 8-4 record in the month of March. 

With the recent emergence of Reaves' play, the topic of his next payday has become a huge conversation among NBA fans. As such, when Reaves appeared on Andre Iguodala's Point Forward podcast, he was asked about his NBA future by Evan Turner. While Reaves' answer shouldn't alarm Laker fans, It's a very transparent one. The question about his next 5-10 year plan was asked at the 34:23 mark.

"I would like to be here," Reaves said. "It's the NBA though, it's a business at the end of the day. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't talented enough to come into the league at 18 or 19 years old, so a couple contracts behind someone that's a one-and-done. Anybody that says we don't play the game for money, to me, is lying. I feel like, if you wasn't getting paid, you wouldn't be here doing it. Obviously, everybody loves the game, but I wanna make as much money as I can and be as successful as I can, no matter where it's at."

Austin Reaves is a restricted free agent next season, who wants to be on the Lakers. At the same time though, he's 24 years old and on the verge of making generational money that could change the future of his family and his potential children. Whatever he decides in the future, Laker fans should definitely appreciate him regardless.