Why Austin Reaves is the key to Lakers’ Post-Lebron James Future

Lakers went into Saturday’s Matinee against Indiana Pacers without LeBron James and Luka Dončić. No one would have fought an eye if they lost much less been blown up.

Instead, run by a career high 45 points from Austin Reaves, Lakers managed to avert Pacers in a 124-117 victory.

When Lakers acquired Dončić this past weekend, speculation quickly began about Reave’s long -term future with the team. He seemed like an obvious trade chip to dangle after upgrades elsewhere, as both LeBron and Dončić work best with the ball in their hands.

Reaves is in the middle of a career year but it is unclear if he wants to be able to preserve his 23.1% utility rate Once Dončić debuts Lakers.

If James was in the mid -30s, it could be a valid concern. Unfortunately, he turned 40 in December and has repeatedly suggested that he is approaching the end of his Hall of Fame career. He may have decided to retire after the 2025-26 season, which would allow Lakers to pull a tough reset around Dončić during the 2026 season.

Reaves could be the key to it, both on and off the field.

Even before his 45-point outbreak, Reave was on average a career high 18.5 points and 6.1 assists per Match this season while shooting 44.4% overall and 36.1% from Deep. He is not one of the NBA’s leading markers, but he has drastically increased his three-point volume from only 2.7 attempts per year. Fight as a rookie to a career high 7.0 this year.

Reaves has thrive as a secondary ball trader with James. Even if he takes a step back when both James and Dončić fit up, what shows it is a brief question. There is no reason why he could not fill the same role with Dončić when James retires.

While Reaves is one of Lakers’ most desirable trade chips, their now-built trade for Hornets Center Mark Williams was proof that they can acquire an influencing player without including him.

Now that they have Dalton Knecht and their 2031 first round pick back, they have several assets to shop with this season. Along with their first round 2031, they can offer a 2032 pick swap after the draft as well as swaps in 2026, 2028 and 2030.

Reaves can also be the key to Lakers’ ability to reload immediately if James retires after the campaign 2025-26. He has a $ 14.9 million player setting for the 2026-27 season, which he expects to fall, but Lakers could take advantage of it in favor of following the same plan as it Philadelphia 76ers Did with Tyrese Maxey the last season.

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Since Reaves is a non-drawn free agent rather than a first round pick, he will have a relatively modest free agent cap hold. As long as his salary of 2025-26 ($ 13.9 million) is above the league’s average salary — as it should be-will his cap mad only be 150% of his previous salary or $ 20.9 million. It is expected that the wage rack should be north of $ 170 million By 2026-27, Reave would be eligible for a maximum starting salary of $ 42.5 million.

Reaves probably won’t get a full maximum deal, but he expects to receive more than $ 20.9 million as a starting salary on his next contract. Because Lakers have full bird rights on him, they could keep his cap on their books, spend the rest of their salary-cap space first and then sign him to any deal up to a maximum, even if they will already be over the cap.

Even with Reaves’ Cap team on their books, Lakers could have up to $ 69 million in the CAP room in 2026 if James retires after the 2025-26 season. A MAX Agreement of 35% is expected to start at $ 59.5 million that offseason, so Lakers could have enough cap space to sign someone to a maximum deal and still land another influence player or two in free agency. They would also have an exception of $ 9.7 million intermediate level to spend either on a free agent or as an exception in the season.

Reaves is eligible to sign an extension this season so this plan would not be without risk. A number of teams appear to load to free agency by 2026, including Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat, and Reaves will be an unlimited free agent whose Lakers do not sign him for an extension. Maxey was a limited free agent, so Sixers Knew that they would be able to match any offering sheet he signed with another team.

However, Lakers is limited to how much they are able to offer reaces in an extension. His new deal could not start with more than 140% of his previous salary, which would be $ 19.5 million. At most, they can offer him a four -year extension of $ 87.4 million, which may not be enough to discourage him from testing free agency in 2026.

If Lakers could get reaved to sign this extension, his starting salary would be even lower than his free agent-cap grip in 2026, which would be all better. Fortunately, as he has signed a four -year deal, they can begin to legally negotiate with him this season.

They can get a sense of how much he expects on his next deal and whether they are willing to accommodate this award. If not, they would be better off shopping for him this season rather than risking losing him for nothing next summer.

If Lakers can get Reave on board to wait for a new agreement or if their Max Extension offer is lower than he heads after-Kunne his cap team by 2026 help them with another co-star with Dončić if he assumes that James is retiring.

Unless otherwise stated, all statistics via Nba.comAt PBPStatsAt Cleaning the glass or Basketball reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and information on wage capital via Real alga.

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