The Los Angeles Lakers already offered Austin Reaves a contract extension off his current salary. Considering the bargain of a deal the talented offensive guard currently possesses, there was no desire to accept that. This is where questions begin to be asked of Rob Pelinka.

Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon of the Game Theory Podcast discussed the plans to involve Reaves in the future around Luka Doncic. There was an obvious point that there was no chance anything was going to change with regard to the decision made on the current extension being offered.

Vecenie said, “There’s just no way Austin Reaves is extending on this number. It’s a four-year, $90 million extension. There’s no circumstance where he can extend. He’s going to get like four [years], $160 [million], in that ballpark if you made me bet.

The Lakers will be faced with a ton of critical decisions in the summer of 2026. The new contract for Reaves will arguably be the most important, and expensive, one of them all.

Lakers’ Austin Reaves decision is straightforward — but far from a foregone conclusion

Vecenie was of the mindset that Reaves, an undrafted player who has yet to receive the big pay pump that has been earned by now, would desire financial security that should come with his new deal.

The podcast host was not the only one who has recently suggested the Lakers guard is due for it.

ESPN’s NBA insiders echoed a similar sentiment in their look at how the Lakers build around Doncic. The comfort that can be found in their assessment is a slightly smaller estimate on what that contract looks like.

ESPN wrote, “I think he will get $30 [million] plus,’ one executive told ESPN, echoing multiple front office sources who were asked about the next deal Reaves could command. The expectation, from both that executive and others, is that Reaves ultimately will return to Los Angeles.”

A contract closer to $30 million per year would give the Lakers a little more opportunity to retain their desired flexibility. The comparison ESPN offered about role which the 27-year-old would ultimately be fulfilling would be one similar to that of what Jalen Brunson brought beside Doncic.

The Lakers certainly would not want to find themselves in a scenario like the Dallas Mavericks where they let their other exciting guard get away. Reaves should have the tools needed in his bag to bring a lot of positives next to Doncic.

Seeing successful playoff production from the four-year pro in the 2026 NBA Playoffs would make this decision and all future plans a lot easier for the Lakers. Reaves struggled as a supporting star against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

The Lakers handing Reaves the level of contract being anticipated would suggest an anticipation of one more leap being left for him as a player in the NBA. If that is not the case, Pelinka will need to have a fallback of how to pivot the roster and not fumble Doncic’s window to bring a title to Los Angeles.