{"id":88516,"date":"2025-08-12T07:51:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T07:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=88516"},"modified":"2025-08-12T07:51:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T07:51:38","slug":"breaking-austin-reaves-extension-decision-is-already-made-and-the-lakers-need-a-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=88516","title":{"rendered":"Breaking: Austin Reaves extension decision is already made \u2014 and the Lakers need a plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"relative z-10\">\n<h2 class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large\"><strong>How will the Los Angeles Lakers build the roster around Luka Doncic when factoring in Austin Reaves?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 1x,  \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 2x,\n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Los Angeles Lakers v Oklahoma City Thunder\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_321,y_150,w_3258,h_1832\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/20\/01k2cfxpfen19vm9qtde.jpg\" alt=\"Los Angeles Lakers v Oklahoma City Thunder\" width=\"3258\" height=\"1832\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Los Angeles Lakers v Oklahoma City Thunder | William Purnell\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\"><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon of the\u00a0Game Theory Podcast\u00a0discussed the plans to involve Reaves in the future around\u00a0Luka 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.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;&gt;iframe]:max-w-full flex justify-center relative aspect-video overflow-hidden max-w-full bg-black [&amp;&gt;iframe]:absolute [&amp;&gt;iframe]:top-0 [&amp;&gt;iframe]:left-0 [&amp;&gt;iframe]:w-full [&amp;&gt;iframe]:h-full [&amp;&gt;iframe]:border-0 my-f-1\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/stfMEma9I6k?feature=oembed\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Vecenie said, &#8220;There&#8217;s just no way Austin Reaves is extending on this number. It&#8217;s a four-year, $90 million extension. There&#8217;s no circumstance where he can extend. He&#8217;s going to get like four [years], $160 [million], in that ballpark if you made me bet.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The Lakers will be faced with a\u00a0ton of critical decisions\u00a0in the summer of 2026. The new contract for Reaves will arguably be the most important, and expensive, one of them all.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Lakers&#8217; Austin Reaves decision is straightforward \u2014 but far from a foregone conclusion<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The podcast host was not the only one who has recently suggested the Lakers guard is due for it.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN&#8217;s NBA insiders\u00a0echoed a similar sentiment\u00a0in 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.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN wrote, <em>&#8220;I think he will get $30 [million] plus,&#8217; 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.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A contract closer to $30 million per year would give the Lakers a little more opportunity to retain\u00a0their 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.<\/p>\n<figure><em>Look away Mavericks fans: Jalen Brunson confirms he asked the Mavericks for a 4-year, $55M extension.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Mavericks rejected him twice.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>(via\u00a0@allthesmokeprod)\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/UCX1mKkv3n<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops)\u00a0February 21, 2024<\/em><\/figure>\n<p>The Lakers certainly would not want to\u00a0find themselves in a scenario\u00a0like 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.<\/p>\n<p>Seeing successful playoff production\u00a0from the four-year pro in the 2026 NBA Playoffs would make this decision and all future plans a lot easier for the Lakers. Reaves\u00a0struggled as a supporting star against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">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&#8217;s window to bring a title to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-j7qwjs\">\n<div class=\"css-1rwzck\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How will the Los Angeles Lakers build the roster around Luka Doncic when factoring in Austin Reaves? Los Angeles Lakers v Oklahoma City Thunder | William Purnell\/GettyImages&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Breaking: Austin Reaves extension decision is already made \u2014 and the Lakers need a plan - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=88516\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Breaking: Austin Reaves extension decision is already made \u2014 and the Lakers need a plan - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How will the Los Angeles Lakers build the roster around Luka Doncic when factoring in Austin Reaves? 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