The Los Angeles Lakers might be on the verge of losing one of their most valuable weapons — and Matt Barnes sees it coming. Austin Reaves has become a clutch bucket-getter and a steady scorer for the Lakers in recent years. His rise from an undrafted rookie to a key offensive option has not gone unnoticed by Barnes, the Lakers’ front office, and teams around the league.
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Reaves averaged 20.2 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.5 rebounds during the 2024-25 regular season but dropped to 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in the playoffs.
Over his Lakers career, he has averaged 14.5 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds. The jump from his rookie numbers of 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 61 games shows his development as a vital contributor.
Recently, on Unplugged, Barnes described Reaves as the kind of player you can count on in crunch time. “There’s times where he was the leading scorer on this team,” Barnes said.
“There’s a guy that you can throw the ball to and for sure get a game-winning bucket. [He] hits big shots tough as a [expletive], maybe not the best on defense, but there’s not too many people out there that are really locking up,” he continued.
At one point, Reaves was untouchable in Lakers trade talks, a reflection of his value as a reliable third option or even a high-value second option.
When asked if Reaves still is untouchable, Barnes replied, “He has been for the team, and I don’t know if he is now because I think this team is in a hurry-up mode. [The Lakers] need to try to get the best players around Bron, but name a better third option that could be a two.”
And what makes him so valuable? Well, not only has reaves shown that he can handle the ball as the primary and secondary offensive engine on the team (thunk back to when he dropped a career high 45 points against the Pacers with both LeBron and Luka out), but Barnes has seen enough of his game to know that Reaves’ biggest positive is his ability to perform under pressure.
“He can be a very valuable second option, because he just doesn’t get rattled. He’s a f*****g dawg I f**k with AR,” Barnes continued.
Despite that value, Reaves reportedly rejected a four-year, $75 million extension from the Lakers. Barnes suggested that Reaves is betting on himself to earn a bigger payday. The situation reminded Barnes of what happened with Dennis Schroder.
During the discussion with guest Geno Davis, Davis remarked, “Turning it down $91 million from the Lakers. I mean, that’s pretty big [sh*t]. We seen somebody do that, what’s his name?” Barnes replied, “Schroder! And he still ain’t been the same.”
In reality, Schroder turned down a four-year, $84 million extension in 2021, betting on himself that other teams would offer him more. He instead ended up signing a minimum contract with the Raptors for close to $6.9 million.
Barnes believes Reaves will land a far more lucrative contract in free agency. “I think, barring injury, he’ll definitely get more on the open market,” Barnes said. “I think there’s no question about it. Some people are saying close to $200 million. I thought the $160M to $200M. I don’t know what the exact numbers are, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s close.”
He added that Reaves might not get that deal from the Lakers but from a non-contending team looking to make a splash. Barnes said, “It maybe it may be a team that’s not in contention. It’ll be really interesting to see if this season [if] he is not worth 200 million in a Laker uniform.”
Austin Reaves’ refusal of the Lakers’ extension puts the team in a tough spot. If he cashes in elsewhere, the Lakers will need to find ways to replace his scoring punch. Reaves’ next huge payday could change the Lakers’ roster and their future plans.
