Report: Atlanta Hawks Have Interest In Signing Lakers Guard Austin Reaves This Offseason

The Los Angeles Lakers have now joined the Atlanta Hawks in the offseason.

Atlanta has been working on their plan to get better this summer since its first-round loss in six games to the New York Knicks, while the Lakers made it to the second round but were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder. One of the priorities for the Lakers this offseason will be retaining guard Austin Reaves, who has a player option he will decline, making him an unrestricted free agent and likely drawing interest from other teams.

Could one of those teams be the Atlanta Hawks?

It might be a long shot, but according to Sam Amick at The Athletic, the Hawks are one of the teams that have shown interest in prying Reaves from Los Angeles:

"At present, the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, who both have needs at the guard position, are the only teams with the sort of salary-cap space available to meet that sort of financial mark. Other teams that are known to have some interest in Reaves — like Utah and Atlanta, per league sources — would need to make roster moves to find the necessary space. League sources say winning will be a significant factor in Reaves’ thinking."

So how could the Hawks pull this off?

I do want to stress that the phrase "some interest" does not mean that the Hawks are going to be going all in on Reaves and that he is their top priority this offseason. However, it would make sense for the Hawks to pursue Reaves, as he would fill a huge need that was exposed in the playoffs.

Atalnta was heavily dependent on CJ McCollum for halfcourt shotmaking and offense and that is not a sustainable model of success for a team that wants to contend in the Eastern Conference and that is not an indictment of McCollum, but he is 34 and that is not the kind of role that he should be playing for a team at his age.

Heading into the offseason and at this particular moment, the Hawks would not have the kind of cap space that they would need to sign Reaves, who is going to command a large contract and in Amick's report, he mentioned that Reaves could command up to $40 million per year.

Heading into the offseason, here is how the Hawks roster looks:

Jalen Johnson- $30 million

Nickeil Alexander-Walker: $15.2 million

Onyeka Okongwu- $16.1 million

Corey Kispert- $13.9 million

Zaccharie Risacher- $13.8

Buddy Hield- $9.6 million (partially guaranteed, just $3 million is currently protected, becomes guaranteed on June 25th)

Dyson Daniels- $25 million

Asa Newell- $3.4 million

There is one key team option that the Hawks are going to have to decide what to do with. The biggest one would be Jonathan Kuminga's. Kuminga has a $24 million team option for next season and if the Hawks want to pursue Reaves, declining that option is almost certainly going to have to be a part of that plan. Getting off of Buddy Hield's contract would open up some space and the Hawks could try and trade one or both of Kispert or Risacher to try and open up more room, but due to the amount of money they make, that might not be easy.

If the Hawks were to land Reaves, would that mean that CJ McCollum is not going to be brought back? Not necessarily, but it would make it more difficult for sure.

Even if the Hawks are truly interested in bringing in Reaves, would he want to play in Atlanta and leave Los Angeles and Luka Doncic? The path in the Western Conference is tougher with the Thunder and Spurs standing in the way, but the Hawks (as of right now) don't have a player of the caliber of Doncic, and he and Reaves seem to work well together.

It is very, very early in the offseason, and the Hawks are going to have plenty of optionality and flexibility to improve their team. They have two first-round picks, ways to make more financial flexibility, and an overall good direction as a team. I will say I am highly skeptical that Reaves would want to join the Hawks, but we will see what transpires in the coming weeks.

Add us as a preferred source on Google