![\"Luka](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/GettyImages-2200757328-e1741036951930.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Austin Reaves\u2018s emergence as the Los Angeles Lakers\u2018 third star this season is a major win for Rob Pelinka and his front office.<\/p>\n
Reaves has already outplayed the four-year, $54 million extension he signed in the summer of 2023. The undrafted guard is looking to cash in on his star turn.<\/p>\n
Reaves, 26, is extension-eligible beginning on July 6.<\/p>\n
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Reaves is expected to decline an extension offer from the Lakers this offseason and will opt out after next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow I expect this to play out is the Lakers will make their contract extension offer to Austin on July 6 or sometime around then and they will offer him about four years, $88 million-ish to 90 million,\u201d The Athletic\u2019s Lakers beat reporter said on his podcast \u201cBuha\u2019s Block\u201d on Feb. 25. \u201cSomewhere in that range, which if you average that out is about 22-23 million per year on an annual basis that is below Austin\u2019s market value.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Will Austin Reaves Leave Lakers?<\/strong><\/p>\n Reaves, who is currently out with a calf injury, is on the midst of his best season in the NBA, averaging 19.1 points on 45\/36\/87 shooting split with 6.0 assists, and 1.1 steals, all career highs, and 4.2 rebounds.<\/p>\n \u201cI suspect the Lakers will make the formal offer of an extension and say, \u2018Hey, this is the most we can offer. We\u2019d love for you to sign this and remain a Laker for the foreseeable future,\u201d Buha continued. \u201cI\u2019d expect Austin to decline that and not sign that extension and then opt out after the 2025-26 season. He\u2019s got a player option for 2026-27.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But Buha was quick to add Reaves will try to remain with the team that believed in him and gave him his NBA shot.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I think in that 2026 summer, he will opt out,\u201d Buha added. \u201cHe will test free agency, and then he will try to remain a Laker long-term, but it\u2019s gonna come down to what type of contract they offer him. He\u2019s a guy who should be making at least $27-28+ million, if not $30+ million moving forward.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Reaves will likely draw interest from several NBA teams. The Lakers must have learned their lessons by now when they cheap out on Alex Caruso.<\/p>\n Homegrown Pride<\/strong><\/p>\n In the weeks leading to the 2024 NBA trade deadline, ESPN\u2019s Dave McMenamin explained in detail why the Lakers have made Reaves untouchable.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t imagine a better role player because [Reaves] has the trust of those two guys [James and Anthony Davis],\u201d McMenamin said on the January 8, 2024 episode \u201cThe Lowe Post\u201d podcast. \u201cHe has the confidence of those two guys. He\u2019s been a proven playoff performer. He has the trust and the kind support of the Buss family \u2014 the brothers who identified him in the draft process and Governor Jeanie. That\u2019s a point of pride for her to have someone like Austin Reeves who was a homegrown Laker organization product [and] become a star.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Davis has now been replaced by Luka Don\u010di\u0107, the next face of the franchise for the next decade. But the arrival of the ball-dominant Slovenian star who plays like LeBron James hasn\u2019t slowed down Reaves\u2019 growth.<\/p>\n In seven games with Don\u010di\u0107, Reaves is still averaging 16.7 points, 4.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Austin Reaves\u2018s emergence as the Los Angeles Lakers\u2018 third star this season is a major win for Rob Pelinka and his front office. Reaves has already outplayed… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39537,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n