Austin Reaves has gone from undrafted free agent to one of the most important players on a team that includes LeBron James and Luka Dončić. But fans of the Los Angeles Lakers should enjoy it while it lasts, because there is a real chance that 2025-26 will be Reaves’ final NBA season with the team.
Will Austin Reaves Find A New NBA Home For Next Season?
Back in 2023, the Lakers rewarded Reaves for the successes early in his career with a new contract. The deal was for four years, and was worth a total of $53.8 million for an average annual value of $13.4 million. It turned out to be one of the best bargains in the league, as Reaves is the 130th highest paid player based on AAV, but finished ranked 34th in the NBA in points per game in 2024-25 (20.2 PPG).
austin reaves was an undrafted unathletic multi year college guy
who bet on himself in one of the worst lakers seasons in franchise history
skipped the g league 2 way contract before the season even started
& is now currently one of the best 3rd options in the nba https://t.co/QAOo2mam3W pic.twitter.com/tdg6kRIPhR
— Coach Rome (@Rome_Beast) August 25, 2025
Reaves is headed into the third of that four year deal, but it could be the last one. The final season of his contract (2026-27) includes a player option worth just under $15 million, which is something that he will almost certainly be opting out of. That would make him a free agent after this season, and his asking price could end up being too high for the Lakers.
According to Zach Lowe of The Ringer, Reaves could command a contract with a value in the range of $40 million next summer. That number would immediately put him into the top-40 highest paid players for 2026-27, which is something that Los Angeles could be reluctant to commit to.
Reaves Could Command $40 Million Per Year On Next Contract
While Austin Reaves has been one of the best values in the NBA in recent years, he does have some limitations. He is primarily an offense-only player, and would likely be better served as the third option on a championship contender rather than a second. There will be a team out there that gives him the money he desires, but is Reaves’ production worth nearly 25% of a team’s salary cap obligations?
Austin Reaves in games WITHOUT LeBron James last season:
27.9 PPG
6.6 RPG
8.3 APGWith LeBron out for the first 3-4 weeks, expect Reaves to COOK 😤 pic.twitter.com/HsqF9VvKws
— SleeperLakers (@SleeperLakers) October 14, 2025
As for the upcoming season, the Lakers are hoping that a contract-motivated Reaves can help them achieve their goals. They have some of the best star power in the league on their roster, but navigating through the gauntlet that will be the Western Conference in 2025-26 could prove to be a serious challenge. It will be interesting to see if Reaves continues his upward trajectory, and we could see signs early on with LeBron James set to miss nearly a month to begin the year.
