The Los Angeles Lakers re-signed guard Austin Reaves on a four-year, $56 million contract this offseason, the most they could offer him as a restricted free agent. It was not, however, the most Reaves could have commanded around the league as other teams could have offered him around $100 million with the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets known to have had interest.
Since Reaves was a restricted free agent, the Lakers could have matched those offers even though they were greater than what the franchise themselves could give him, and they were open about their intent to do just that. Ultimately, it looks as if that made a difference to those other interested teams.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Spurs considered offering Reaves a contract worth more than $20 million a year but decided against it due to the belief that the Lakers would match it anyway:
The Spurs considered offering Reaves a restricted free agency sheet worth $21 million per season, league sources told HoopsHype. Ultimately, however, the Spurs were scared off by the widespread belief that the Lakers would match any offer sheet for Reaves and chose to preserve cap space as a salary dump destination for future draft pick compensation.
There is no doubt this was part of the Lakers’ strategy in making it very clear that they intended to match any offer sheet given to Reaves. The franchise keeps one of its most important players on a long-term contract while also maintaining flexibility in the future.
While the Spurs would have loved to bring Reaves in, they knew it wasn’t going to happen and thus, made the decision to not tie up their cap space with the offer sheet that they knew wouldn’t stick. And in the end, both the Lakers and Reaves got what they wanted which was for him to remain in L.A.
Now with his contract secure, Reaves can focus on continuing to develop and increasing his role with this team. Participating in the FIBA World Cup will allow him to hit the ground running once training camp begins and he will once again be crucial to the Lakers’ championship hopes.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves reveals Rigorer AR1 ‘Ice Cream’ signature shoe
Another major accomplishment for Reaves this offseason was signing a shoe deal with Chinese brand Rigorer. And he now will have his first signature shoe to be released on Aug. 11.
The Rigorer AR1 ‘Ice Cream’ will launch exclusively on the Kicks Crew app and fans can sign up for early access as well as the chance to win a free pair of the shoes.
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