The Los Angeles Lakers have made a decision that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. According to a new report, the franchise plans to prioritize re-signing Austin Reaves over bringing back LeBron James this summer.
Lakers insider Jovan Buha laid out the front office’s thinking. The team is preparing two offseason plans, both built around what LeBron decides. If LeBron stays, they look for a starting-level trade partner. If LeBron walks, they get aggressive on the restricted free agent market. Either way, Reaves is at the top of the priority list.
This is the right move. Long overdue. Reaves is 27 and just finished a season averaging 18 points and five assists per game while shooting 38 percent from three. He has become the connective tissue between Luka Doncic and the rest of the roster. The Lakers tried him as a starter, tried him off the bench, ran him as a pick-and-roll initiator, and he produced in every role.
LeBron James, meanwhile, made $52.6 million this season. He is 41 years old. He played at an All-Star level but logged his lowest minutes-per-game total since his rookie year. The Lakers love LeBron. The Lakers also have to plan for what happens when LeBron is no longer LeBron, which is a horizon that gets closer every year.
Reaves is a piece of that future. LeBron is a piece of right now. The Lakers are betting on the future without ditching the present.
The reported strategy is a pivot toward youth, sustainability, and long-term cap planning. LA does not want to be the team that keeps maxing out a 41-year-old while letting cheaper, productive guys walk for nothing. They have watched that movie before. Plenty of teams have.
LeBron has decisions of his own. League sources say his return to the Lakers is far from settled. He could opt back in. He could test the market. He could even consider Cleveland, where the Cavaliers reportedly hope to lure him with a taxpayer mid-level deal or a sign-and-trade. Every move triggers another move.
The cap math is what makes this complicated. Reaves is heading toward a significant raise, somewhere in the $25-30 million range annually if the market is honest with him. Doncic is on a max deal. JJ Redick has roster spots to fill. Rob Pelinka has to find shooting, a starting center, and bench depth without obliterating his future flexibility.
Prioritizing Reaves makes that math work better. He is a guy you build around at his current price. LeBron is a guy who eats the rest of the cap and forces the rest of the moves.
The Lakers learned that the hard way. Now they are betting on the player who has earned the next step. Austin Reaves was an undrafted guard from Arkansas. He turned himself into one of the most reliable second options in the league. The Lakers want to keep him for a long time.
LeBron James might still be a Laker next season. He might not. Either way, the front office finally drew a line. That line says Austin Reaves comes first.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
