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5 hours ago
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Without LeBron James and, for the most part, Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers have been heavily relying on Austin Reaves to carry the scoring burden. And so far, Reaves has definitely been exceeding expectations.
Now, if the Lakers want to keep this reliable third superstar, they’re gonna need to pay up. According to NBA insider Tim Bontemps, Reaves will be getting up to a four-year, $180 million contract update.
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“The belief around the league is that $30 million per year is the absolute baseline for Reaves' services. (There are currently 59 NBA players making at least that much.) Another executive theorized that with Reaves being able to get as much as four years and roughly $180 million from another team in free agency, that a five-year deal for more total dollars could be a good compromise to get a deal done to keep Reaves in L.A.,” Bontemps wrote.
So far this season, Reaves is averaging 34 points, six rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals per game. He’s also doing it on almost 50-40-90 splits.
As of right now, Reaves is only making around $14 million, with a $15 million player option he could pick up. With a contract update that could make him $30 million plus though, he will most certainly decline it.
And to be fair to Reaves, he definitely deserves the money. He’s been overperforming on his current contract, and his averages have jumped substantially year after year. Hopefully the Lakers realize that, and keep their second superstar paired with Doncic for years to come.
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