The Los Angeles Lakers still have a lot of things to figure out this summer. Their starting backcourt is no longer one of them.
Wednesday, Austin Reaves and the Lakers agreed on a four-year, $185M extension that will keep him in Forum blue and gold through the 2029-30 season. It won’t keep the Lakers from making other moves, but the 28-year-old guard who averaged 23.3 points last season is locked in.
Los Angeles Lakers committed to Austin Reaves-Luka Doncic core
The new contract, the most Reaves could have received on the open market, means the Lakers have committed over $330M to their two starting guards.
Reaves will make $41.3M next season, while Luka Doncic will earn $49.8M. Combined, their salaries will take up just over 58 percent of the team’s salary cap.
That won’t affect their ability to spend this summer, however. The Lakers will have around $52M in cap room, assuming Deandre Ayton opts in to his $8.1M contract for 2026-27. Because the Lakers can go over the cap to sign Reaves using his Bird rights, they can spend up to the cap and then ink Reaves last.
That gives the Lakers a big opportunity to remake their team this summer — and this summer only. With both of their guards on megadeals, the team’s future flexibility is limited. Thanks to the NBA’s second-apron penalties, it’s hard to add more salary around two max deals.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have dominated together
The Lakers could do a lot worse than building their team around two high-scoring guards, even if they’re challenged on defense. When Doncic and Reaves play together, the Lakers are 46-21, a 56-win pace for a full season.
They moved up to nab Cam Carr at No. 24 in Tuesday’s draft, giving the team another shooter and bench scorer. But the Lakers have a lot of holes to fill. Forward Rui Hachimura is a free agent, as is sharpshooter Luke Kennard, center Jaxson Hayes and forward/GOAT LeBron James.
There’s no obvious difference-maker available in free agency, so the team may need to be creative with trades to land someone big. Or, they could run it back with last year’s team, and not much opportunity to upgrade. James could return at a reduced price, but he’d understandably want to see what the Lakers would use the money they’d save.
Signing Reaves is the Lakers’ most important big move of the summer. It’s important that it’s not their last one.
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