Austin Reaves, Lakers ‘motivated’ to agree to deal next summer

While Austin Reaves recently turned down an extension, he and the Lakers both sound interested in agreeing to a contract next summer.

In a vacuum, Austin Reaves turning down the Lakers recent extension offer seems like a sign of two sides on opposite pages.

Add a little context, though, and it’s abundantly clear that is not the case.

Throughout his career, Reaves has been underpaid given his level of production, a byproduct of going undrafted. The contract extension offer from the Lakers, to that point, also would have been signifcantly lower than what he could have earned next summer.

Therefore, given everything we know, turning down the extension was a common sense move by Reaves. It also shouldn’t, and reportedly doesn’t, say anything about the relationship between Reaves and the Lakers.

In an article on Saturday morning, Dave McMenamin of ESPN provided more information on where the two sides stand.

Reaves, for his part, declined the Lakers’ four-year, $89.2 million offer this week, which sources said came as no surprise.

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The Lakers made the offer, sources said, understanding that Reaves would turn it down, but the franchise wanted to show its interest in him nonetheless and did not want to send the wrong signal by not offering it. Both sides, sources told ESPN, are motivated to find a deal next summer.

Just about everything Reaves has said about his future involves some version of him wanting to remain in LA. And given what a homegrown success story he is, the Lakers likely are going to feel the same way, to say nothing of the production he brings as well.

Not only can the Lakers offer him significantly more money next summer, but if he’s also willing to play ball, he could help the Lakers potentially land a big fish in free agency, too. His relatively low cap hold paired with what will largely be clean books for the Lakers in the summer of 2026 means the team could reel in a big fish free agent.

So, while it’s impossible to fully predict the future, it seems like a safe bet, at least for now, that Reaves will remain in LA.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.