Three Reasons Austin Reaves Should Sign With the Hawks Instead of Re-Signing With The Lakers

There is not going to be a more sought-after free agent this summer than Lakers guard Austin Reaves. Reaves is coming off a career-best season with Los Angeles and is almost certainly going to decline his $14.9 million player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Reaves has been one of the best success stories in the NBA, going from an undrafted player to one of the best guards in the league, and he has improved in each season.

The Lakers are going to be the heavy favorites to re-sign Reaves once the free agency period begins, but there are teams out there who would love to sign him away from Los Angeles.

The Atlanta Hawks are a team that makes sense and they have avenues to create enough space to sign him to a big contract, though not as big as the five-year $241 million deal that the Lakers can offer him.

Of all the teams that might be able to sign Reaves away from the Lakers, I think the Hawks stand the best chance and here are the reasons why.

1. Pathway to winning big is clearer

Austin Reaves Los Angeles Laker — May 9, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) is defended by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) in the first half of game three of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Lakers were a better team than the Hawks were this past season;this past season; they have loads of cap space to work with, and they have Luka Doncic, who ended the season playing some of the best basketball of his career before being sidelined they have loads of cap space to be able to work with, and they have Luka Doncic, who ended the season playing some of the best basketball of his career before being out for the entire postseason with an injury.

But the competition in the Western Conference is going to be far tougher in the years ahead. Yes, the Lakers did not have Doncic against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the gap between those two teams was quite large, and the Thunder should only be getting better as crazy as that sounds.

The team that beat the Thunder is not going to be going anywhere either. The San Antonio Spurs have shown their youth in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, but they are still alive in the series and they have Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper to build around for the future and are not disappearing anytime soon.

The Thunder and Spurs are not the only teams that could be in the Lakers way. Denver, Minnesota, Houston, and even Utah (yes, Utah) are going to be good next season and the Lakers, while having a lot of cap space, might be hamstrung if they have to give Reaves a massive contract and also re-sign LeBron James.

In the Eastern Conference, there are not that many obstacles. The Knicks are still going to be an elite team that should return the majority of their team from this season, but the rest of the Eastern Conference has questions.

The Pistons were the No. 1 seed and have an MVP level player in Cade Cunningham, but the playoffs showed the flaws that their roster has. Boston just lost in the first round to the 76ers and face questions this offseason, the Cavaliers were swept by the Knicks in a non-competitive series in the Eastern Conference Finals, and teams like Toronto, Orlando, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Miami face plenty of questions as well.

That puts the Hawks in a solid position. They finished the season 20-6 after the All-Star Break and had one of the best net ratings in the league. They have a young core of Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, and Dyson Daniels that would give Reaves a great supporting cast, and the Hawks still have other ways to add to the team, such as the No. 8 pick in the draft and the non tax payer mid level exception.

The Eastern Conference does not have the Thunder or the Spurs in it, and that gives the Hawks a nice sales pitch. Winning is reportedly one of the top things that Reaves wants wherever he signs, and I would argue the Hawks are in a better position to compete in the Eastern Conference than the Lakers are in the Western Conference.

2. Reaves could be more of a top option

Austin Reaves and Luka Donci — Mar 14, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts with guard Austin Reaves (15) after scoring a game winning shot during overtime against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

There is nothing wrong with being the No. 2 guy, but that is what Reaves will be in Los Angeles as long as the Lakers have Doncic.

Reaves might be totally ok with that as well, he shined in his role this past season alongside Doncic and the two players appear to have a great relationship and he is the exact kind of player that fits alongside Doncic.

But he would have the opportunity for a bigger role in Atlanta.

Jalen Johnson is the Hawks' top option and, like Reaves, is coming off the best season of his career, though Johnson was able to earn All-NBA recognition for his season. The playoffs were not kind to Johnson, though, and he had a rough series against the Knicks, though it was his first real postseason opportunity as the top option on a team.

Reaves would be able to step in the CJ McCollum role on the Hawks and he would be relied upon to create offense for Atlanta in the halfcourt, something that was a big struggle for Atlanta against the Knicks.

Would Reaves blossom with more responsibility or get worse? If he were to get better, getting him at this price would be a great deal for the Hawks.

3. Hawks could be a deeper team

This is a little tough to project because we don't know how the summer is going to play out for the Lakers, but if the Hawks could sign Reaves, they would still have Johnson, Alexander-Walker, Daniels, and Okongwu to go along with more space to sign players and the No. 8 pick in the draft this month.

That is a pretty good core to work with. The Hawks went through several different versions of their team last season, but when they settled on something after the All-Star break with McCollum, Jock Landale, and Kuminga on the team, they were fantastic to end the year. Reaves would be a big upgrade over McCollum and give the Hawks more of a scoring punch.

The Lakers have a lot of work to do to fill out their roster and if they give Reaves a big contract plus bring back LeBron James at a big number, the Lakers would not have a lot of room to improve their roster around that group and they would not have a high draft pick like the Hawks. Atlanta would have ways to keep improving their roster, while the Lakers would have to rely on free agency to fill their needs and this is not a great free agent class.

The Hawks don't have a player the same caliber as Doncic, but they are an intriguing option for Reaves to consider this summer. They have a clearer path to the NBA Finals, he would be given more responsibility as a playmaker, and the Hawks might just be a better all-around team than the Lakers.

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