Is History Repeating Itself? Austin Reaves’ Free Agency May Lead to Another Alex Caruso Situation for the Lakers

The Lakers may be facing a similar problem with Austin Reaves, who is set to become a free agent soon, just like they did with Alex Caruso in the past. Jovan Buha, who is a writer for The Athletic, believes that the Lakers may offer Reaves a lowball contract, just like they did with Caruso. This happened because two years ago, the Lakers offered Caruso a very low contract of less than $15 million for two years, which he refused. Instead, Caruso ended up signing a much larger deal worth $37 million with the Chicago Bulls. Many people criticized the Lakers for the way they handled Caruso’s contract negotiations.

The Lakers don’t want to repeat the same mistake with Reaves, who is known for being a versatile and smart player in LA. The hope is that they will offer him a fair and reasonable contract when the time comes for negotiations.

“I think this is a similar situation to D-Lo in terms of mutual interest on both sides,” Buha said.

“But also, there are going to be multiple suitors for Reaves… This is kind of lining up to potentially be another Alex Caruso situation where he wants to be there, and the Lakers want to retain him, but if they try to get a little too cute with the offer or negotiation, I could see him potentially leaving and going somewhere where he’s going to get the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception.”

You’re right, there is a key difference between Reaves and Caruso. Reaves is a restricted free agent, which means that the Lakers have the right to match any offers that he receives from other teams. However, it would still be in the Lakers’ best interest to avoid any potential conflicts by offering Reaves a contract that reflects his value as a player. If they don’t, there could be some negative consequences, such as damaged relationships and a loss of trust between the team and its players. So, it’s important for the Lakers to handle Reaves’ contract negotiations with care and fairness.

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