Lakers Star Betting on Immanuel Quickley Payday

Austin Reaves is betting on himself after declining the Los Angeles Lakers‘ four-year, $89.2 million offer earlier this offseason.

The undrafted guard is expected to enter unrestricted free agency next summer by not picking up his $14.9 million player option for the 2026-27 season.

Buha’s Block host Jovan Buha said on Spectrum SportsNet that he expects Reaves to sign “a four-year, $120-plus million contract” next summer.

“I think that’s the shrewd move on LA’s part,” Buha said. “He wants to be a Laker for life. This is a guy who could have been drafted and decided to be undrafted so he could sign with the Lakers… Austin wants to be in LA, and I expect that to be the thing. But I do expect the next contract to be like four years, $120-plus million next summer.”

Austin Reaves Wants Tyler Herro-Type Deal

Getty Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat drives to the basket past LeBron James and Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Previously, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports reported that Reaves wants to be paid “in the Tyler Herro range of $30 million a year (and Herro is a good comp in a lot of ways).”

Buha agreed but went a notch further.

“If you look at some of the guys in that range, like Immanuel Quickley, Tyler Herro, I think Austin is easily in that class. Better than a lot of the guys in that $30-32 million range,” Buha said. “Context and leverage are always factors here. So we’ll see what type of season he has and the type of playoff performance he has.”

Herro, the 13th overall pick in 2019, signed a rookie-scale extension worth $130 million over four years in 2022. On the other hand, Quickley, the 25th overall pick in 2020, signed a five-year, $175 million deal with the Toronto Raptors in 2024.

“People around the league are penciling [Reaves] in to make $30+ million this summer, whether it’s with the Lakers or someone else,” Buha said. “I expect it to be with the Lakers, I expect him to re-sign on a multi-year deal.”

Last season, Reaves was the clear-cut third-best player on the Lakers roster behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and later on Luka Doncic.

Reaves took another leap, averaging a career-best 20.2 points on 46% overall shooting and 37.7% from the 3-point line, 4.8 assists against 2.2 turnovers in the regular season.

Postseason Blues

Getty Austin Reaves vows to be better next season following the Los Angeles Lakers’ early playoff exit.

But Reaves’ postseason woes haunted the Lakers.

The Lakers guard’s numbers considerably dipped to 16.2 points, on 41.1% overall shooting and 31.9% from the 3-point arc, 3.6 assists against 2.8 turnovers in their five-game loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.

“If Reaves shows this season that he can be a high-level scorer next to Luka Doncic and can step up his game in the playoffs, the Lakers gladly will pay that much to keep him (and Reaves will want to stay). However, if he struggles again in the playoffs, the Lakers — who will have a lot of cap space — may question whether that is the best way to spend their money,” Helin wrote.

Reaves vows to be better for the Lakers next season. Asked about his plans on how to better complement the Lakers’ star duo, Reaves had a straightforward answer.

“Just play better,”  Reaves told reporters after their playoff exit. “I feel like I’m talented enough to do that. As I feel like I’ve proved over and over again throughout my whole life.

“There are millions of people who would have never known me if I were never in this position, because, quite frankly, nobody thought I was ever going to be in this position. So, I’ve continued to prove myself over and over again, and I’m going to go to work and do the same thing next year. That’s really it.”