The Los Angeles Lakers will have a lot to figure out this offseason, with one of the things being re-signing Austin Reaves. The guard will command a max contract in free agency, and the Lakers have to decide if they want to give him what he wants or let him walk. In the event that he does walk, the Brooklyn Nets are prepared to offer him a contract, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic.
“Multiple front-office sources around the league, granted anonymity to freely discuss an opposing player, expect Reaves to have interest from the Brooklyn Nets, with a four-year, $178.5 million contract expected to be offered,” Woike wrote. “League sources said the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks are among a group of interested teams that can create space to make competitive offers. Other teams could also emerge.
“At the same time, league sources said teams are approaching free agency with increased caution because of the restrictions tied to the league’s first and second tax aprons, potentially leading to more conservative spending than in previous summers.”
The Nets will have money to spend this offseason, and they’re trying to build something with the talent they already have. Adding Reaves to the mix could help them improve, but they’ll probably still have some ways to go before actually being contenders.
For Reaves, he’ll have to decide if he wants to keep competing with the Lakers, but take a possible pay cut, or go somewhere with the chance of making more money. The Lakers also want to re-sign LeBron James, but their first priority seems to be bringing back Reaves.
It will be interesting to see if any other team besides the Nets decides to offer Reaves a max contract, like the Pistons and Hawks, who actually can make the space to go after him.
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