New Lakers Report Reveals What Could Ultimately Decide Austin Reaves' Future

With the NBA offseason officially underway for the Los Angeles Lakers, the first order of business will likely be re-signing rising star Austin Reaves to a new lucrative long-term deal, assuming he opts out of the final year of his deal as expected.

All signs point to the Lakers reaching an agreement with Reaves on a new contract, as there is mutual interest from both sides to get a deal done, especially with superstar Luka Doncic wanting to play alongside the veteran guard for the foreseeable future.

Austin Reaves Could Command $40M Per Season

According to Dan Woike and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Reaves could command $40 million per season.

Rival executives predicted Reaves could command $40 million a season due to a combination of his play, his age and, perhaps most importantly, a free-agent class completely devoid of players as productive as him in their prime.

Although it may be inevitable that Reaves signs the deal he's looking for with the Lakers, anything can happen during the NBA offseason, with suitors for the talented guard starting to emerge.

Austin Reaves Will Have No Shortage of Suitors

At present, the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, who both have needs at the guard position, are the only teams with the sort of salary-cap space available to meet that sort of financial mark. Other teams that are known to have some interest in Reaves - like Utah and Atlanta, per league sources - would need to make roster moves to find the necessary space.

Even though these four suitors can offer a hefty sum to Reaves, it's hard to imagine he'd leave a situation as he has in Los Angeles, playing alongside Doncic during the prime of both their careers.

Also, the Lakers might be able to make some moves this summer to put more talent around both players, making Los Angeles a legitimate contender next season and beyond.

Winning is a "significant factor" for Reaves, according to Amick and Woike.

League sources say winning will be a significant factor in Reaves' thinking.

Reaves will have until June 29 to make a decision on his player option with the Lakers, which is worth $14.1 million for the 2026-27 NBA season.

During the 2025-26 campaign, Reaves averaged a career-high 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals to go along with 5.5 assists per game. He also shot a career-high 49 percent from the floor while shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/lakers/onsi as New Lakers Report Reveals What Could Ultimately Decide Austin Reaves' Future.

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 9:19 PM.