Refuse to renew early! Will jump out of contract in 2026! The Lakers won't trade Reaves this year

Today is the ninth day after the Lakers are out, and according to Sports Illustrated, the Lakers can currently offer Reaves a four-year, $89.2 million early contract extension. Reeves is expected to refuse, and he will jump to an existing contract and test the free market in 2026. Reaves has two years left on his Lakers contract expiring in 2027 and an average salary of $14.4 million over two years.

Although Reaves' regular season stats have improved significantly from last season, his performance in key playoff games has been mediocre, and many times when he needs to step up has not been seen to play bravely, and even made many mistakes on the ball. In the playoffs, he averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 39.2 minutes per game, shooting 41.4% from the field and 31.9% from three-point range.

Lakers reporter Jovan Buha said: "I think the likelihood of Reaves being traded this summer is actually very low, and the Lakers don't want to trade Reaves. I've heard this for the past three years, and I've mentioned it many times in my reports, that the Lakers have set a high bar for trading Reaves, and they value him very much and think highly of him. ”

"Even if we don't mention what we hear in private, it's clear from the public information that in the season-wrapping interview, both JJ and Pelinka gave Reaves a high rating, and Pelinka called him one of the cornerstones of the team."

"Whether it's JJ, Pelinka, or Jenny Buss, they all think very highly of Austin. So while a lot of people feel he's dwindling, I still don't think he's going to be traded this summer. ”

In my opinion, if the opposing team designates Reaves and gives a superstar chip that suits James Doncic, then the Lakers can also give up Xiaoli. For example, Stud or Durant, as long as the Lakers don't need to send James Doncic, other chips that can be packed will try to meet the other party's requirements.

James and Finneysmith have player options for next season, and they will decide whether to exercise them by June 30 at the latest. The Lakers will decide whether to execute Goodwin's $2.35 million contract for next season and whether to make a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Koloko.

About recruitment. Lakers reporter Jovan Buha said on his own show that he believes Claxton is the first target for the Lakers' offseason center reinforcement, and the second choice is Gafford . Finally, he added that Kessler and Duren have little chance of joining the Lakers.

The Lakers need a center, and everyone knows it. Some fans are worried that the opposing team will not raise the price because of this, so that it will not be ha. Let's see if the management can reproduce the magic operation, and we have a surprise in the offseason. I really can't wait for the center, let's wait another year, wait for the youngest son of old Zhan, Bryce (just kidding).

Recently, former Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy took Bryce to practice in preparation for next summer's draft. Bryce, who will turn 18 in June, is named a three-star shooting guard in the country, ranking 204th in the nation in the class of 2025 and 54th among shooting guards. The above rankings are for reference only, after all, we are participating in the 2026 draft.

Bryce's muscle lines are still good, if the Lakers continue to select Bryce next year, they do not rule out the possibility of Lao Zhan playing until 2027, so that the miracle of the father and son playing on the same stage will be achieved. Originally, the achievements of the father and son were difficult for the latecomers to chase, and the father and son all came, and others were even more out of reach.

The old man will fight for two more years.