Austin Reaves turned down an extension offer from the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason because he can make more money next offseason.
Reaves is expected to decline his 2026-27 player option with the Lakers to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
During an interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Reaves stressed that he wants to spend his entire NBA career with the Lakers.
“Like I’ve said a million times today already, I wanna be here,” Austin Reaves said. “I wanna figure this out and I wanna be a Laker for life. So that’s the main thing. Turning down $90 million is something I never thought that I would do. … But at the end of the day, it’s a business, but like I said, I love LA. They’ve treated me very, very well since I’ve been here. The fans, the organization. So I have nothing but respect and gratitude for all them and I wanna be here.”
Reaves averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks in 73 games for the Lakers last season while shooting 46.0% from the field, 37.7% from beyond the arc and 87.7% from the free-throw line. He was the team’s third-leading scorer behind superstars Luka Dončić and LeBron James.
Reaves, 27, has career averages of 14.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks with the Lakers. The undrafted guard will make $13.9 million in 2025-26. He signed a four-year, $53.8 million contract with Los Angeles in July 2023.
The Athletic spoke with team and league sources who expect Reaves to earn more than $35 million a year on his next deal, with sources from two teams (neither being the Lakers) speculating that he could command more than $40 million a year.
Latest NBA News & Rumors