On Wednesday, it was reported by ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania that the Los Angeles Lakers had come to terms with guard Austin Reaves on a new four-year, $185 million max contract to keep him with the franchise over the long haul. The move was seen as likely by many pundits, and gives the Lakers another foundational piece for their backcourt to build around alongside Luka Doncic.
Recently, sports media personality Skip Bayless weighed in on what this means for the future of LeBron James, who is set to hit free agency next week.
“Good for the Lakers keeping Austin Reaves off the open market next week by giving him the max. They’ve made Luka the Face of the Franchise so they needed to lock up his best buddy. Now they have even less reason to pay LeBron,” wrote Bayless on X, formerly Twitter.
At this point, most seem to think that James will be back in Los Angeles once again next year, and it’s unclear exactly what Bayless’ line of thinking is regarding how Reaves’ new contract may affect the James negotiations.
Some have pointed out that a backcourt of Doncic and Reaves, while explosive on offense, is hard to build around from a defensive perspective, and James does not exactly add much on that end of the floor as he approaches the age of 42. The Lakers still have another avenue to add talent in free agency this offseason, and recently drafted Cameron Carr after a trade with the New York Knicks to give themselves another intriguing prospect on the wings.
In any case, the NBA free agency period is officially slated to open for business on June 30.
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