The Lakers Want To Run It Back, Are Reportedly "A Lock" To Retain Austin Reaves, And Apparently Covet Bruce Brown

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The Los Angeles Lakers played exceptionally well once they gave their roster a trade deadline makeover Hollywood would be proud of. Why not try to keep as many dudes as possible from that squad who ran all the way to the Conference Finals as a seventh seed?

One guy who didn't pop in last-minute was Austin Reaves. The undrafted diamond in the rough who the Lakers lucked into is hitting restricted free agency. Even if a team offers the maximum money that's available to Reaves, though, LA intends to match. This according to longtime NBA beat reporter Marc Stein on his Substack (h/t USA TODAY's LeBron Wire):

"The Lakers, league sources say, are a lock to match any offer on Reaves — even if someone signs Reaves to the maximum allowable offer sheet worth nearly $100 million over four years."

Austin Reaves is one of the most exciting, fastest-rising players in the sport. Given how much he's raised his ceiling in just two NBA seasons, it'll be compelling to see if he can keep on his current trajectory. The 25-year-old guard was a major bright spot when the Lakers got swept by the eventual champion Nuggets in the Conference Finals, shooting 54% from the field with averages of 21.3 points, 3.5 boards and 5.3 assists.

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A playmaker who can create his own offense is a must for the Lakers with LeBron James entering his 21st season. Another recent Laker who can do that is Rui Hachimura. He's an RFA as well who's received a qualifying offer already, just as Reaves has. Even if Rui can make more money elsewhere, my hunch is he sticks with the Purple and Gold.

Just as I was writing this more Reaves-centric piece, news broke that GM Rob Pelinka might try to poach Bruce Brown away from Denver:

What a sweet move that would be. Definitely doable unless the Lakers think someone else is a better fit for the mid-level exception. Adding a battle-tested, gritty guard like Brown who can spearhead a second unit or even spot start depending on the matchup would be huge.

The question becomes, what would Brown's arrival mean for the other dudes in the backcourt rotation? And could you move on from someone else? Sounds like the Lakers will welcome any and all competition and gladly deal with the uptown problem of surplus depth.

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As long as LA doesn't hang onto Mo Bamba or Malik Beasley, there should be enough salary cap flexibility to pull these moves off without dipping too far into the luxury tax threshold, if at all.

Buckle up for July. It's about to be one hell of an interesting summer for the Lakers. LeBron will have perhaps his last real shot at a championship if they make the right moves. Most of those transactions involve keeping their own. Again, the appeal of playing with a hopefully healthy LeBron for one more title push is a major selling point. So is LA and the rich tradition of the Lakers franchise.

Even once LeBron either retires or moves on to play with Bronny in 2024-25, these Lakers just might have an exciting core still in place to deal with the inevitable departure of arguably the greatest basketball player ever. Can't wait to see how this all shakes out in the coming years.

Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok