According to sources who spoke to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves plans to sign a four-year, $185 million maximum contract to rejoin the team, with a player option for the final season in 2029–30.
In order to get this new maximum contract, which is the highest salary in NBA history for an undrafted player, Reaves turned down his $14.9 million player option.
After teams were allowed to negotiate with their own free agents, the Lakers and Reaves’ agents, Aaron Reilly and Reggie Berry of AMR Agency, worked through talks over the past ten days.
Since the team’s anticipated payroll space accounts for Reaves’ $20.9 million cap hold, the Reaves agreement has no bearing on the Lakers’ cap flexibility this summer. He will earn $41.3 million in his first year and sign last, behind the Lakers exhaust room.
During the team’s departure interviews, Rob Pelinka, general manager and president of basketball operations for the Lakers, made it apparent that Reaves’ return was a top goal.
Last season, Reaves averaged 23.3 points on 49% shooting (36% from 3), with 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.1 steals. However, he played in a career-low 51 games due to calf and oblique injuries, the latter of which prevented him from starting L.A.’s first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
