How much – Austin Reaves’ value is about to become a real salary-cap question for the Lakers. After years of proving doubters wrong, the undrafted guard is expected to reach unrestricted free agency with offers that rivals believe could exceed $40 million annually—starti
The first time Austin Reaves got told what he “wasn’t,” it landed like a door closing on a dream. Too skinny. Too white. Too untested. Scouts who saw him at Oklahoma didn’t think he was worth a guaranteed contract. Even Wichita State looked past him as more of a shooter for the corners.
He didn’t just outwork those assumptions. He outlasted them.
Now, five years after signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, Reaves is stepping into the money moment he has worked his whole life toward. The money—what it could look like on paper—has rival executives expecting his unrestricted free agency offer this summer to exceed $40 million annually.
For the Lakers, this isn’t only about paying a player. It’s about answering whether the person who built his reputation in purple and gold is going to be treated like a cornerstone—or treated like a price they can still negotiate down.
Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said the club is confident it can work something out with Reaves. “He started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker. And we feel the same way. We want his odyssey to continue to unfold in the purple and gold,” Pelinka said. He added: “There’s rules and timing to all of that. but I think both sides have made it abundantly clear that we want to work something out where he continues his prolific career here.”.
The math begins with timing. After the conclusion of the NBA season and before the opening of free agency on June 30. the Lakers have an exclusive negotiating window. Because Reaves has a relatively small cap hold of $20.9 million. the Lakers would like to agree to a deal but hold off signing him until the rest of their offseason business is executed.
That window matters because other teams are already circling.
Multiple front-office sources around the league—granted anonymity to freely discuss an opposing player—expect Reaves to have interest from the Brooklyn Nets. with a four-year. $178.5 million contract expected to be offered. League sources also said the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks are among a group of interested teams that can create space to make competitive offers. Other teams could also emerge.
On top of that, teams are entering free agency with increased caution because of the restrictions tied to the league’s first and second tax aprons. The result could be spending that feels more conservative than in previous summers—yet somehow, this summer, Reaves’ price is still expected to climb.
His return numbers aren’t the only reason teams are paying attention. The timing is sharp.
In his most recent six games after missing nearly a month with a Grade 2 oblique strain, Reaves averaged 20 points, 4 rebounds and 5.8 assists, but his turnovers were up and his efficiency was down. Still, scouts around the league focus on what he did across the full season.
Over 51 games, Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He didn’t make his first All-Star team because a midseason calf injury kept him out. Among the players this season. only 11 other players averaged at least 23 points. four rebounds and five assists: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Nikola Jokić. Jamal Murray. Luka Dončić. Tyrese Maxey. Donovan Mitchell. Cade Cunningham. James Harden. Deni Avdija. Jaylen Brown and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jokić, Gilgeous-Alexander and Antetokounmpo were the only three to average those numbers with a better true shooting percentage than Reaves.
Even with all that, the story has never been only statistics.
Reaves is entering free agency at a stage where players of his caliber rarely become available. Extensions are usually a foregone conclusion. But because Reaves was undrafted, the most the Lakers could offer before last season was a four-year, $89.2 million deal. Reaves declined it—and then delivered what he had to deliver.
The scarcity has helped his case and softened some of the concerns teams might otherwise press on. Critics point to his last three playoff appearances—two of which came while injured—and say he can’t handle the physicality of the postseason. Defenders say it wasn’t a problem in his first playoffs. and that every time he’s been presented with a challenge in the NBA. he’s eventually met it.
There’s also a version of the story that makes the decision feel almost unfairly simple.
He does want to remain with the Lakers. He does have a real relationship with Dončić. He does have a real relationship with fellow free agent LeBron James. He also has a real relationship—with shared respect—with his coach, JJ Redick. Off the court. he loves to play golf. and he loves to drive down the 405 South to his country club on off days to play until after the sun sets over Los Angeles.
So why wouldn’t he stay? Money.
The argument around him isn’t framed as greed. It’s framed as value—because in the NBA, salary is the most visible way to show a player they’re valued. And Reaves’ whole journey has been shaped by being undervalued.
The pressure inside the Lakers is that the team wants to get this right once—because Reaves can’t be treated like a small decision. Internally, there’s a strong desire to give Dončić the best-fitting teammates. Reaves. described as a “chameleon” on the floor. fits a roster need as a secondary playmaker who can create his own shot on the ball and be effective off of it.
Defensive concerns about a Dončić-and-Reaves pairing are overstated, one team source said—if the Lakers address other needs on the wing and at the rim. Reaves was also one of the most important voices inside the Lakers’ locker room a season ago, his leadership developing year over year.
But there’s a risk if the Lakers try to keep the negotiations tidy.
If they’re competing against no one, maybe they could be more frugal. The problem is that they aren’t. If they try to save every penny possible to throw at other needs and end up underpaying Reaves, they risk losing him to a better offer somewhere else.
One Western Conference executive put it bluntly: “You can’t let a talent like that walk,” the executive said. “That would be a disaster.”
For the Lakers, that’s the core contradiction of this summer. The same system that makes salary a tool for valuation also makes it a hard limiter. If they can’t secure Reaves soon and convincingly. they don’t just lose a player—they lose a clean pathway to the kind of fit that can slot next to Dončić.
And for all the talk about Reaves being the first major decision, he isn’t the only one waiting.
Leaguewide, the pressure extends beyond the negotiation window. James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, is an unrestricted free agent. So are the Lakers’ best shooters, Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard. Jaxson Hayes is also an unrestricted free agent. Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton both have player options.
All of this means the Lakers could look very different next season, depending on what happens in the months ahead.
But in the middle of those bigger questions, Reaves is likely the first one to force the Lakers to assign real value—because the player who built his reputation as a Laker is ready to reap those rewards.
Austin Reaves Los Angeles Lakers free agency Rob Pelinka salary cap June 30 Brooklyn Nets Detroit Pistons Atlanta Hawks Dončić LeBron James JJ Redick