Austin seems like one of those players, where if he goes to small market team like the Pelicans, he wouldn't go to the line nearly as much.
On the numbers real quick. Lakers can offer him a max of a) 4 years: $185.9m (avg ~$46.5m / yr) b) 5 years: $241.0m (avg ~48.2m / yr) A non-Lakers team with max space (a Jazz next season for example) a) 4 years: ($44.6m / yr) b) 5 years (n/a - cannot) Austin is age 27 currently. That next contract (his big pay day) will take him through the remainder of his physical prime Age 28 through 32. Lakers might low ball at the beginning, but other teams can drive up the price, which Lakers could still beat. With Lebron off the books, they have maybe 70ish m to play with to fill out the rest of roster.
Austin Reaves is definitely legit. I don't like that he's a foul-baiter and plays for the Lakers, but that doesn't influence my opinion of his game. Lakers will not let him go. Period. End of story. I also seriously doubt he wants to leave because LA has long been the favorite city of NBA players. Is he worth nearly $50M x 5 years starting in 2026? Based on his production so far this season, yes, but he won't keep it up.
Sure, but both are massively reliant on flopping and getting calls. Take away shai’s flopping and they don’t win the title last year.
i have always had a healthy amount of dislike for that pasty redneck. i hope the lakers sign him to a super max. would help keep hate alive.
I respect how he's gone from an undrafted nobody to figuring out how to be very successful in the NBA. I despise him for being one of the worst foul-baiters in the NBA. Whoever pays him superstar money will probably regret it. IMO, this past (regular) season will be the peak of his productivity.
Me too. Let other teams max out Austin Reeves, christian Braun, d'aaron fox, etc. Amen needs to give us a discount like Jabari.
The un-drafted part is also manufactured. There were teams that wanted him as a 2nd rounder, but his agent specifically signaled flair to NOT take him. Because they had deals locked in with the Lakers already to sign as free agent after not being drafted. source: Austin said himself on one of the podcasts. What he didn't say was why he still decalred with the Lakers promise. Mandatory legal process of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement: "Austin Reaves at 23: had one year of NCAA eligibility left due to his "redshirt" year when he transferred from Wichita State to Oklahoma. Because he hadn't "exhausted" his eligibility, the NBA couldn't view him as an automatic free agent. He had to declare as an "Early Entrant" to give up that final year and join the 2021 draft pool" It's an underdog story, but not the same as someone like a FVV, who wanted to be drafted but wasn't. Austin's undrafted status was techncially legal tampering, between his agent and the Lakers.
