As rumors had surrounded Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves and whether he would return to the team this offseason, the answer was revealed on Wednesday. With the basketball world wondering if Reaves is a max contract player for the Lakers, the team definitely thinks so with this latest deal.
Los Angeles has signed Reaves to a maximum four-year, $185 million contract with a player option in the final season, as the amount is the “richest contract for an undrafted player in NBA history,” per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves intends to sign a four-year, $185 million maximum contract to return to the franchise, with a player option for the final season in 2029-30, sources tell ESPN. Reaves declined his $14.9M player option for the new max deal,” Charania wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“The Lakers and Reaves’ agents, Aaron Reilly and Reggie Berry of AMR Agency, worked through discussions over the last 10 days after teams were able to negotiate with their own free agents. Reaves lands the richest contract for an undrafted player in NBA history,” Charania continued.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves had interest from “multiple teams”
Charania would report soon after the news broke that, as Reaves was a free agent after declining his player option before getting this new max deal, the Detroit Pistons were one of the “multiple teams” that were interested in the guard. The interest from Detroit was there to the point where they were going to offer “maximum-level salary,” so Los Angeles went in to lock Reaves down.
Last season for the Lakers, Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc. While LeBron James has yet to decide on returning to Los Angeles, Reaves looks to help Doncic take Los Angeles to new heights next season.
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