Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves becomes a restricted free agent this summer and one NBA insider could see the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers throwing an offer sheet toward the rising star.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report could see five teams offering Reaves a massive offer sheet.
“At worst, they don’t get the player but put a higher number on the Lakers’ books moving forward,” Pincus wrote. “Others who could look to do the same include the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers. At 6’5″, Reaves is capable both on the ball as a lead guard and off the ball as a shooter. Expect him back with L.A. next season, but another team could make the process more difficult and expensive.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers & Utah Jazz Updates
Reaves averaged 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Lakers during the regular season. The 25-year-old then put up 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in the 2023 playoffs, proving that he’s capable of taking his game to another level.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers plan to bring Reaves back, even if the Arkansas native signs a max contract offer sheet. Los Angeles also plans to re-sign Rui Hachimura, who also becomes a restricted free agent.
“Reaves and Hachimura are restricted free agents, meaning the Lakers can match any offer sheet either player signs,” Buha wrote. “The Lakers intend to retain both this summer, even if it means matching their respective max offer sheets, according to multiple team sources who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers & Utah Jazz Updates
Reaves told Shams Charania of Stadium in April that he wants to spend his entire career with the Lakers. The Oklahoma product grew up a huge Kobe Bryant fan.
“Yeah I wanna be a Laker,” Reaves told Charania. “Obviously, they gave me the first opportunity. I was a huge Laker fan growing up. Big Kobe fan. So honestly, just to be able to play for the Lakers organization is special and I wanna be a Laker. So hopefully we can get this done and I can stay there for hopefully my whole career.”
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