Austin Reaves taking a leap this season was not new to his career. He’s made a habit of steady improvement throughout his career.
What was different about this season was that it came in a contract year. On the brink of his next big payday, Reaves played at an All-Star level. An untimely injury kept him out of the mid-February exhibition game, but it did not change his level of production.
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For the fifth straight season, Reaves saw his scoring increase, this year jumping up to 23.3 points per game. And as a result, he’s set to rake in a whole lot of cash this summer. According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, the expectation around the league is that Reaves will get a contract around $40 million per year.
While team and league sources believe that the Lakers and Reaves will eventually land on a contract that makes sense, the door for Reaves to walk is open should he get a big offer elsewhere. Rival executives predicted Reaves could command $40 million a season due to a combination of his play, his age and, perhaps most importantly, a free-agent class completely devoid of players as productive as him in their prime.
While that number seems high, in the new NBA, it’s going to become far more standard to see deals this big. On the flip side, a number that big is going to limit the teams that could even offer him that in free agency. Woike also detailed the teams that could target Reaves.
At present, the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, who both have needs at the guard position, are the only teams with the sort of salary-cap space available to meet that sort of financial mark. Other teams that are known to have some interest in Reaves — like Utah and Atlanta, per league sources — would need to make roster moves to find the necessary space. League sources say winning will be a significant factor in Reaves’ thinking.
Having said all that, there have been no indications that Reaves is going to leave for another team. Luka Dončić has campaigned for him, Austin has made it clear he wants to return and the Lakers want him back.
The other good news is that his big deal won’t stop LA from making deals this summer. His cap hold will be about half of that expected $40 million salary. As our own Bryan Toporek previously wrote, his low cap hold will be the key to the team’s free agency plans.
Since Reaves is an undrafted free agent rather than a first-round pick, he’ll have a relatively modest free-agent cap hold. As long as his 2025-26 salary ($13.9 million) is above the league’s average salary, his cap hold will be only 150% of his previous salary, or $20.9 million…The salary cap is projected to be north of $170 million in 2026-27, so Reaves would be eligible for a maximum starting salary of $42.5 million as a free agent.
Fortunately for the Lakers and Reaves, they should be able to have their cake and eat it, too. They can make free agent moves and then give Reaves the payday he has earned.
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You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
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