Austin Reaves, a guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, was anticipated to be among the most sought-after free agents available heading into the previous offseason.
But because he was a restricted free agency, the Lakers were free to match whatever offer sheet he accepted. Reaves ended up back with the Lakers on a highly team-friendly four-year, $54 million contract as a result of clubs being reluctant to sign him.
It’s not surprising that teams were vying for Reaves well before the trade deadline given that he had one of the richest contracts in the league. According to reports, the Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks have discussed trading Dejounte Murray, but it appears that Los Angeles is holding up negotiations because they do not want to include Reaves in their package.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic claims that the Lakers actually don’t seem to want to deal Reaves at all:
Austin Reaves, a guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, was anticipated to be among the most sought-after free agents available heading into the previous offseason.
But because he was a restricted free agency, the Lakers were free to match whatever offer sheet he accepted. Reaves ended up back with the Lakers on a highly team-friendly four-year, $54 million contract as a result of clubs being reluctant to sign him.
It’s not surprising that teams were vying for Reaves well before the trade deadline given that he had one of the richest contracts in the league. Reportedly, the Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks have discussed a Dejounte Murray trade; but, L.A. is not inclined to include Reaves in their
Austin Reaves became trade-eligible on Jan. 15
The Lakers could not have traded Reaves even if they had desired to until this past week. Only Reaves and Rui Hachimura, who signed restricted free agency contracts last summer, were available for trades on January 15.
