Austin Reaves Lands Historic $185M Lakers Payday After Drawing Interest from Pistons & Other Teams

That Austin Reaves could theoretically be signed by another team piqued interest around the NBA. But in reality, there was little doubt he would remain with the Lakers, continuing what has been a remarkable journey since arriving in Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma in 2021.

After a fairly brief negotiation period, Reaves and the LA Lakers have agreed to a four-year deal. That deal is worth $185,000,000, which is, so far, the biggest contract of Reaves' professional basketball career. It's also a historic contract, considering where Reaves came from.

The amount itself doesn't make the contract significant. Plenty of other superstar-caliber players in the NBA have richer deals. What makes it noteworthy is the fact that this is the biggest deal that an undrafted player has ever signed in league history.

Before this deal, he was on a four-year, $53,827,872 contract. That carried a player option for the 2026-27 season, which he declined, so he could renegotiate a better deal with the Lakers' front office.

Reaves' current contract, just like the last one, has a player option for the final year. Of course, his new deal isn't official yet. His camp and LA have only agreed verbally, as teams can't sign any free agents yet.

The front offices can only discuss matters with their own free agents and reach verbal agreements.

On June 30, teams can begin negotiating with free agents across the league. A brief moratorium period will follow until July 6, when contracts can officially be signed. Had Reaves and the Lakers failed to reach an agreement, several teams were expected to pursue the 28-year-old guard, who averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game during the 2025-26 season.

Among the teams with a genuine interest in signing him were the Detroit Pistons and the Brooklyn Nets (who recently acquired three-time All-Star Julius Randle), which would have sent him to the Eastern Conference.

With Austin Reaves locked down, the LA Lakers can now focus on other pressing matters.

What's Next for the Lakers After Austin Reaves' Deal?

Securing Austin Reaves to a long-term deal solves one problem for the Lakers. With him coming back to partner up with Luka Doncic, the team has secured its high-octane star backcourt duo.

However, several questions still need to be answered. The Lakers have a number of key roster decisions to make, with the futures of Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, and Jaxson Hayes still unresolved.

Looming over all of them, however, is the situation surrounding 41-year-old LeBron James, who has reportedly remained in contact with the organization. He joined the Lakers in 2018 and guided them to a championship win two years later. Now, he's no longer the main man, with Doncic arriving in 2025 to lead the side back to glory.

Of course, James has continued to play at a high level for someone his age. He averaged more than 20 ppg in year 22, which, quite frankly, is astonishing. And if James does want to retire with another NBA ring that would make him a five-time champ, partnering with Reaves and Doncic would be a good bet.

However, there have been no reports of progress beyond the two camps just talking. It indicates that LA is interested in bringing the four-time NBA MVP back, but it does not mean he is set on returning.

In fact, he might eventually announce that he won't even return to play basketball at all. He is mulling retirement, and he can quietly go off into the sunset this summer without the fanfare related to a farewell tour.

Or, he can decide to remain in the NBA, but play in any of the dozen or so teams that reportedly have an interest in him.

Before LA can think about other stars or specialists and role players to put around them, they must figure out whether James will come back to keep their star trio intact, or whether they can fill the cap space intended for him with other assets.