Austin Reaves heavily factored in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ decision to trade for Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers vice president and general manager, made the stunning revelation in an interview with NBA.com.
“You bet on the fact that he plays the game the right way, his teammates love to play with him,” Pelinka told NBA.com. “You bet on the fact that he’s an ultimate competitor. You bet on the fact that he absolutely loves basketball and wants to get better all the time. I don’t even like to put a ceiling on a player like that, just let his journey be what his journey is.
“But even going back to the time of doing the big trade that we made, bringing in Luka, I had Austin in my head that whole month I was going through that transaction. Because he’s a Swiss Army knife, he can play really in any environment with any player; he thinks the game, sees the game at a high level, and it allows him to play so well with Luka and LeBron [James].”
The Mavericks were criticized for what many thought was an underwhelming return for a generational star like Dončić. They received Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick for Dončić.
While Davis, the centerpiece of the Lakers package, is a 10-time NBA All-Star and a five-time All-NBA and All-Defensive Team member, he is six years older than Dončić.
In contrast, the Lakers were celebrated as the winner of the trade as they were able to keep Reaves and their 2031 first-round draft pick from the blockbuster trade that shocked the NBA world.
Austin Reaves’ Star Turn
Pelinka was right all along.
His bet on Reaves is paying off as the undrafted guard continues to blossom as the Lakers’ third star despite ceding point guard duties to Dončić.
Reaves took off this season when Lakers rookie coach JJ Redick put the ball in his hands after relegating D’Angelo Russell to the bench and later on traded for Dorian Finney-Smith. While it took a while before Reaves got used to playing off Dončić, a ball-dominant force like James, it was worth the wait.
Over his last 10 games, Reaves averaged 25.3 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 53.5% from the field, 40.7% from beyond the arc, and 94.1% from the free-throw line.
Reaves is the first Lakers player since the late Kobe Bryant in 2012 to average at least 25 points on 50/40-90 shooting split over any 10-game span, per StatMamba.
Time to Cash In
It was not only the Lakers who bet on Reaves.
The fourth-year guard also bet on himself when he settled for a four-year, $54 million extension in the summer of 2023 to stay in L.A.
Now, it’s his turn to cash in this summer.
Reaves, 26, is extension-eligible beginning on July 6.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Reaves is expected to decline an extension offer from the Lakers this offseason and will opt out after next season to maximize his potential earnings.
“How I expect this to play out is the Lakers will make their contract extension offer to Austin on July 6 or sometime around then and they will offer him about four years, $88 million-ish to 90 million,” The Athletic’s Lakers beat reporter said on his podcast “Buha’s Block” on Feb. 25. “Somewhere in that range, which if you average that out is about 22-23 million per year on an annual basis that is below Austin’s market value.”
Buha said he believes Reaves should be making at least in the $27-30-plus million range in his next contract.
“So, I think in that 2026 summer, he will opt out,” Buha added. “He will test free agency, and then he will try to remain a Laker long-term, but it’s gonna come down to what type of contract they offer him.
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