Extended for $54 million over four years by the Lakers, Austin Reaves is one of the very big winners of the offseason since the back of Team USA only received 1.5 million last season. The revelation of the Lakers multiplied his salary by 8, but he could have earned even more! Indeed, a team like the Spurs could have offered him a contract of 100 million over four years, and we were talking more precisely about a deal of 60 million dollars over three years. He admits that the prospect of playing with Victor Wembanyama made him think…
“We hear things, and obviously with Wembanyama, we know that there is so much potential with him, that we wonder what it could look like in the world of basketball” recognizes Reaves at the microphone of Zach Lowe. “I told myself that it was impossible for the Lakers not to follow what was offered to them. They had made it clear that they would comply with what was offered to them. »
In addition to the Spurs, the Rockets were also on his trail, but they preferred to bet on Fred VanVleet, while San Antonio was cooled by the prospect of the Lakers aligning, and they ultimately did not make an offer.
“The Lakers had been quite clear that they were going to match the offers” confirms Reaves. “Ultimately, I wanted to be in Los Angeles. I love being here, I love the franchise, the fans. Obviously, I would have liked to have had as much money as possible, but like I said, the conditions and the opportunity to be here in LA was really what we wanted and this is where we wanted to be.”
