Lakers News: LA Prepared to Match Massive Offer Sheets for Austin Reaves
You're well aware of the story by now.
The Los Angeles Lakers were 13th in the Western Conference, and injuries and roster dysfunction were the main talking points around the franchise.
A playoff run?
That seemed improbable at best, and impossible at worst.
Then the trade deadline happened and the roster was retooled. In came Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell, along with Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba. Hachimura and Russell both played a big part in the Lakers' resurgence, but it was shooting Austin Reaves who made a giant leap to help propel the Lakers to the playoffs and was a key element for the Lakers in that playoff run.
The Lakers defeated the West's No. 2 seed, the Memphis Grizzlies, and then the conference's No. 6 seed, the Golden State Warriors, before falling to the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in four games during the Western Conference Finals, an abrupt end, but a postseason that more than exceeded expectations.
As for Reaves, he averaged 17 PPG and hit 44 percent from three in the playoffs, providing a much needed perimeter threat for the Lakers and held his own for the most part on the defensive end as well.
After that leap forward to end the second-year pro's season, the pride of small-town Newark, Arkansas will hit restricted free agency this offseason -- and the Lakers will have a big decision to make as to how high they'll go to potentially match an offer sheet.
According to The Athletic's Jovan Buha, that threshold is high, as he told HoopsHype's Michael Scotto on the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast.
"The Lakers are going to match any contract offer sheet that he signs up to that $100 million," Buha said. "The Lakers view him as the third-best player on this team if you look at the regular season and postseason he had."
Yes, Reaves should be coming back to LA this offseason, even at that number.
The Lakers will have to do a number crunch with soon-to-be free agents in Russell and Hachimura, but it looks as if the franchise will do whatever needs to be done to have Reaves remain an integral part of the franchise. Beasley and Bamba have pricey team options that seem unlikely to be picked up, unless the team hopes to package them in trades.
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