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1 hour ago
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Before the Los Angeles Lakers attempt to strike gold on the offseason frontcourt and two-way wing markets, they should ensure they bring back high-value assets from their 2025-26 squad.
Why? It would give them a positive starting point and help set the tone for the remainder of the summer.
The Lakers’ 23.3 points per game star, Austin Reaves, is among the contributors the franchise has been vocal about re-signing after a breakout campaign. In Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley’s opinion, Los Angeles will ultimately get the job done and keep Reaves in the fold for the foreseeable future.
“Austin Reaves doesn't have many obvious reasons to leave the Los Angeles Lakers. They're within arm's reach of the championship race, and he's a part of the same backcourt as one of the best players on the planet in Luka Doncic,” Buckley wrote Tuesday.
“The setup is, objectively speaking, pretty sweet. It's hard to conjure up scenarios in which Reaves would want to walk away from this—except for the obvious. Money often talks loudest in free agency, and maybe someone throws him an offer that lands north of what the Lakers are comfortable paying.”
It'd take a lot for that to happen, of course. As HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported, "teams besides the Lakers know they'll have to offer a max contract for Reaves to realistically entertain the thought of leaving the Lakers."
“Still, the likeliest scenario has always involved Reaves running it back in L.A., and this report does nothing to change that. If it would take a max offer—which he's not guaranteed to get—to make him even think about leaving, he probably doesn't want to exit. Prediction: Reaves re-signs with the Lakers for five years and $185 million.”
Re-signing Reaves would arguably be the best move the Lakers could make to keep Luka Doncic happy.
While injuries have made it challenging for the two dynamic guards to play complementary basketball alongside each other consistently, Doncic has expressed excitement with the idea of potentially continuing his partnership with the 6-foot-5 undrafted stud.
Obviously, the Lakers must make additional moves to keep Doncic optimistic about the future (such as adding a sharpshooting two-way wing and an electric center). However, keeping Reaves would be a great way to kick off what should be a productive offseason for the 17-time NBA champions.
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