Former NBA GM Has Bold Take on What Lakers Should Do With Austin Reaves

The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into what will almost certainly be a franchise-altering offseason, filled with change and the possibility of a bright future, as they build around superstar Luka Doncic.

Perhaps the top priority for the Lakers this summer is securing Austin Reaves’ long-term future with the team. Reaves has a player option for the 2026-27 NBA season at $14.8 million, which he’s expected to decline and become an unrestricted free agent.

Although all signs point to the Lakers re-signing Reaves when he becomes a free agent, there’s a chance that the team faces some stiff competition on the open market, with some lucrative offers coming from other teams, even though the rising star has expressed an interest in staying in Los Angeles.

Vlade Divac Thinks Lakers Shouldn’t Sign Austin Reaves to Max Deal

During a recent appearance on Mohr Stories with Jay Mohr, husband of Lakers governor Jeanie Buss, former Lakers center Vlade Divac was asked whether he’d, as the former general manager of the Sacramento Kings, sign Reaves to an extension worth $241 million.

“I love his game, but I wouldn’t as a GM,” Divac said. “As a fan, I would because he’s a great guy, he’s a great player, but he’s not on Luka’s level, let’s say.”

Divac is right from the standpoint that Reaves isn’t on the level of a superstar like his teammate Doncic. However, this is also coming from the same general manager who passed on the opportunity to draft Doncic in 2018.

Instead of drafting Doncic at No. 2 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Divac chose to bring in Marvin Bagley III. In retrospect, Bagley turned out to be one of the biggest draft busts that year in a deep draft, with players like Doncic, Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson going on to become star players in the league.

Other notable players drafted after No. 2 include Jaren Jackson Jr., Mikal Bridges and Michael Porter Jr. Clearly, Divac dropped the ball in 2018, which he regrets, but justifies by already having De’Aaron Fox on the Kings.

Vlade Divac Regrets Passing on Drafting Luka Doncic

Vlade Divac Los Angeles Lakers Sacramento Kings — Mar 9, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Vlade Divac attends the game between the Sacramento Kings and the LA Clippers at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“I had De’Aaron Fox on my team,” Divac said. “So, I was thinking, drafting Luka, I have to trade Fox because Luka is unbelievable. And Foxy was starting to show his capability, and then I realized, I have Luka, it’s a small-market team, down the road, you are not going to keep him. He’s going to go somewhere.”

As for Reaves, it’s highly unlikely the Lakers’ brass will let the undrafted star slip through their fingers this summer, as it seems to be only a matter of time before Los Angeles signs him to a long-term deal.

The real question moving forward is what the deal will look like and whether Reaves will get as much as the Lakers can offer.

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