Austin Reaves Thought Los Angeles Lakers Could Trade Him After He Declined Extension
Austin Reaves declined a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason since he can make more next offseason.
Reaves is expected to decline his 2026-27 player option with the Lakers to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
During an interview with Dan Woike of The Athletic, Reaves said he thought the Lakers could trade him after he declined the extension this offseason.
“I thought that there was a good chance for, like, a week after I declined the extension that there was a possibility I’d get traded,” Reaves said. “I mean, it’s still a possibility.”
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 the Lakers in July 2023.
“I feel like I could be an All-Star. But all of that is, in my opinion, relative. Thank God I play with Luka and LeBron. And, I wanna win. So, it’s not like I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m just going out chucking, getting numbers,” Reaves said. “…If that’s the map for me to be an All-Star, I don’t care about that. I wanna win. If that means to be, ‘a third option’ to what I’m doing what I did last year, but we were having a chance to compete in the playoffs and compete for championships, then I would prefer that much more than even being an All-Star.”
The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games.
The Athletic spoke with team and league sources who expect Austin 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.
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