Austin Reaves’ new Los Angeles Lakers contract will net him $180 million instead of the widely expected $185 million over four years.
Reaves signed the richest contract of any undrafted player in NBA history this summer to remain with the Lakers.
It turns out that the actual contract is $5 million less than what had been reported earlier, but for a key reason that will help the Lakers considerably.
Austin Reaves $5 million sacrifice for the Lakers is for next season
Spotrac listed the official numbers of Reaves’ new contract and revealed that the 29-year-old guard is taking a slight discount for the 2027-28 season, with the team committing a smaller percentage of their cap next season.
“What Reaves essentially did was take half of the raise he could have gotten (4% instead of 8%) between year 1 and year 2 of his contract. Lines up with Mamu’s dip year.”
The net savings for the Lakers from this are about $5 million, but the roster implications for next free agency are much bigger.
Reaves’ sacrifice has given the Lakers additional salary room for next season to retain access to their non-tax mid-level exception, which would give them $16 million in additional spending power in 2027.
Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists last season, truly deserving his contract after proving he’s a seamless fit next to Luka Doncic while being someone who can step up and lead the team if needed.
Lakers need every lever to keep adding talent to this team
The 2026 offseason has led to the Lakers completely exhausting all their future assets, primarily to acquire Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz.
With the Lakers expected to part with their last-remaining pick (2032 pick swap) to dump Jarred Vanderbilt’s contract for Jonathan Kuminga, the franchise won’t have any way to make additional moves for the next few years.
Access to the NTMLE is the best way for them to reinforce the roster next season, especially if players on one-year deals with player options wind up testing free agency.
While Reaves might not miss a lot of sleep over his sacrificed $5 million, the Lakers will definitely rejoice that they have more room to work with next offseason.
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