After declining a max extension, what's next for Austin Reaves and the Lakers?

New York Times

4 hours ago

Four years after he went undrafted and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, Austin Reaves is set to again wait — this time on a major raise.
League sources told The Athletic that Reaves formally declined a max extension with the Lakers this week that would've paid him $89.2 million over the next four seasons. He's about to start the third year of a four-year, $54 million contract he signed as a restricted free agent in 2023 — also the max number he could receive from the Lakers at the time.
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He can opt out of that deal and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, when he's expected to command significantly more than the most lucrative extension the Lakers were allowed to offer this summer.
The decision, league sources said, wasn't a reflection of Reaves and the Lakers' relationship — instead it's almost a foregone conclusion considering the limitations placed on the amount the Lakers were allowed to offer this week.
Reaves' upcoming potential free agency meant his name was floating in and out of rumors on the first day of the NBA Draft. The Lakers have never shown real interest in trading Reaves and continue to hold him in high value.
Still, there are skeptics around the NBA, mostly because there's pressure for the Lakers to aggressively upgrade their roster alongside Luka Dončić, LeBron James and, presumably, Reaves — three players Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka singled out in his end-of-season press conference on May 1.
'I think when your foundation for those three players is that they're players of high-character and a highly competitive nature, that's the perfect starting point to have three players like that,' Pelinka said. 'LeBron's a selfless player, high character. All he cares about is winning. Luka Dončić, the same. Austin Reaves, the same.
'I think when you get those three pillars in a training camp environment and you're starting to build an ethos around them, that's a great starting point. And we didn't have that opportunity this year, but we will next year.'
Reaves averaged 20.2 points per game this past season, a career high. His pending free agency makes him a bit of a tricky player to trade for. Teams that value him can offer him basically twice as much as the Lakers' extension offer in 2026. And if you're a team that thinks the Lakers are willing to move Reaves instead of paying him, are you pushing your best assets into talks to get a deal done for someone you might just be able to sign 12 months from now?
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If you're the Lakers, are you looking at a five-game series with Minnesota where Reaves had the least productive postseason of his career as an indictment or are you factoring in the painful toe injury that limited him in the final two games of the series?
Promises of internal improvement and continuity aren't nearly as exciting as 'Breaking News' alerts signaling trades. As the Lakers prepare for their lone scheduled decision of the NBA Draft — the No. 55 pick — fans should have realistic expectations for the kind of impact a player taken in the final gasps of the second round can have on a roster. None of the guesses around the NBA for what the Lakers might do in the second round — from targeting a center to looking for defensive toughness and/or shooting to spending cash to move up in a trade if necessary — are all that surprising.
During the draft's first day, scouts and executives around the NBA gossiped plenty about the Lakers and their need to add a starting center and their desire to get more versatile on the wing. And because there are limited pathways for the Lakers to address those needs now, rival league personnel wondered if Reaves was potentially more available via trade than he'd ever been before.
The Lakers and Reaves, though, seem committed to remaining in a partnership.
At his youth basketball camp in Arkansas earlier this month, Reaves told a local television station he hoped to remain with the team throughout his career.
'I want to be in LA. I want to play my whole career in LA. I love it there. I love the fans. Love the weather, love the golf,' Reaves told K8 News. 'And obviously the Lakers is the best organization in basketball.'
From the Lakers' perspective, there's some proof of concept that a Dončić-James-Reaves trio can work. The team went 10-3 in the 13 regular-season games it started together (with Rui Hachimura) — including road wins over eventual Eastern champions Indiana and NBA champion Oklahoma City.
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Is that the cause for the Lakers to be sidelined on the first days of the new NBA offseason and not make a trade? It's difficult to say other than the team, because of a relatively lean asset chest, can't afford to make the wrong move, even if it's done to fill an obvious hole.
The Lakers remain aggressive in their pursuit of a center (the one they traded for midseason last year, only for the deal to be rescinded, Mark Williams, got dealt to Phoenix on Wednesday for the No. 29 pick and a future first).
They're armed with ample expiring money, a helpful tool in any trade, a future first-round pick and last year's rookie, Dalton Knecht, to get a trade done should one present itself. At least for now, the Lakers seem more focused on finding the right deal instead of simply just finding a deal.
Reaves told the Lakers he thought it was best to wait. Now, it's on the Lakers to signal to the NBA whether or not they're willing to do the same.
(Photo of Austin Reaves: Juan Ocampo / NBAE via Getty Images)