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4 hours ago
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There's a clear and obvious reason Austin Reaves chose not to accept any sort of extension offer this week from the Los Angeles Lakers.
It's because, in a year's time, Reaves has the chance to sign for basically triple the amount.
ESPN's Bobby Marks spelled out recently what Reaves could earn next year in a max contract situation.
The extension Reaves turned down would've paid out $89.2 million over four seasons.
The extension Reaves will be eligible for next offseason? That could be up to five years and $246.7 million.
There's no telling quite yet whether Reaves will rise to that level of payday, but it's very, very possible.
The former Oklahoma star is coming off a season in which he averaged 20.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.
He has gotten better in each of his four seasons with the Lakers, and he just turned 27 years old.
If L.A. wants to, Reaves can be the backcourt mate of Luka Doncic for the next half-decade.
Yeah, it'll be costly, but high-end players nearly always get their max value these days when it's their turn.
Reaves is betting on himself, for sure, but it's a pretty fool-proof bet to make, because even if he doesn't get the max next year, it'll likely still work out to much more than he would've gotten on the current offer.
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