A Dark Horse Plotting to Steal Austin Reaves from the Lakers

By | Bullscore 2 Jun, 2023

Austin Reaves a well-known basketball player might get stolen from Los Angeles Lakers. In this current season’s awesome playoff performance, Reaves is having a great time.

Reaves accomplished some great things in the current season with averaged 16.9 points on 44.3 percent shooting from three throughout. He also chipped 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds per outing while serving as the Lakers’ second or third-best offensive option sometimes.

He also averaged 21.3 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per outing in the Western Conference Finals despite the stakes being so high.

Reaves gets a lot of fame both on the court and in his social life. He is creating his own separate fan base. Be it Reaves’ epic trash talk for Laker foes and his girlfriend’s wild photos going viral, he already got the star power necessary for success in L.A.

There are other teams that have shown interest in taking Reaves into their ranks so he might be restricted to becoming a free agent this year. This is not all, other than these teams there also seems to be a Dark Horse who is plotting to steal Reaves from the Lakers and can give them a real run for their money.

“I’ve heard [the] San Antonio [Spurs] could be a dark horse team that will try to poach Austin from the Lakers,” Jovan Buha of The Athletic said on The HoopsHype Podcast with Michael Scotto.

But Buha’s all efforts might be in vain as Reaves is not planning to move anytime soon.

“I think the Lakers are going to retain him,” he added. “Obviously, their preference would be to sign him to the four-year, $54 million deal.”

Scotto, for his part, wouldn’t be shocked to see Reaves’ deal end up closer to the $100 million mark.

“It appears, essentially, that Reaves is going to get a four-year, $54 million deal the Lakers can offer, or it’s going to take a team coming in at four years, $100 million to really move the needle with a restricted free agency offer sheet,” he said.

“Some executives think he’s worth $80 million (over four years). Once free agency unfolds, maybe some teams don’t get guys they thought they would get with cap space.

“Could they make a bigger offer sheet and go up to that $100 million? That remains to be seen. The Lakers will have the opportunity to keep him. He’s not even scratching the surface of his prime. He’s only 25.”

It will be tough for the Lakers and they will have to plan their every move not just for Reaves but also for others too.