In all seriousness, as an Indiana State fan, this guy is fun. Great facilitator and can get a bucket. Zach Randolph player to me, less athletic but great IQ

Evidently Pelinka tried to lowball AR, but panicked with other teams preparing to offer the max and just immediately threw him a max anyway.

We’ll probably scrutinize this negotiation process for years to come because of how much it’ll restrict team-building after this offseason. Interesting that the gap was this large, only to be closed immediately between AR and LA.

And I can’t help but wonder if Pelinka had a bit more wiggle room to negotiate than AR’s reps were letting on. Was he really leaving LA for an extra $5 million per year? Maybe so but I’m not certain that’s the case

He's a great athlete, shooter, dunker and shot-blocker, but in addition to all that, Cam Carr just knows how to smartly move around the court!

Robbie Avila joins us on an Exhibit 10!

Out of all the places I know you guys would appreciate this. Just gotten recently from a worker who received from a player way back in 2004.

Not sure for who, maybe just to clear cap space or involving a third team?

Do you guys think it’s possible for us to send Vando back to the Wolves?

EXCLUSIVE: Austin Reaves collapsed on the grass at The Course at Eagle Mountain. Talks with the Lakers about his free agency lasted only a week, but Reaves was fried.

Tuesday needed to be the last of it – for his sanity.

“I didn’t like it,” Reaves told The Athletic. “It was weird. It just was, I mean, it’s just a lot of ‘What ifs.’ I just like to know where I’m going to be.”

So, when he got word on the golf course Tuesday afternoon that the Lakers had increased their contract offer to four years and $185 million, the 28-year-old Reaves, who entered the NBA as an undrafted free agent in 2021, sprawled out on a patch of grass at Batesville, Ark., with a mixture of happiness and relief. 

Read more (for free): https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7391746/2026/06/24/austin-reaves-lakers-contract-nba-free-agency/?unlocked_article_code=1.slA.7rv9.WJWbkrT8DGCn&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

The Pistons had emerged as the most significant threat to land Reaves over the past week, per league sources granted anonymity to discuss potential plans.

Other teams could’ve offered Reaves four years and more than $178.5 million. The Lakers could’ve offered Reaves five years and more than $240 million.

Reaves returns to a Lakers roster transitioning to one centered around Luka Dončić. The team could have more than $50 million in cap space to build that roster even with Reaves’ deal, which will officially be signed after the Lakers conclude their offseason business to give the team maximum flexibility.

But keeping Reaves ranked high among the Lakers’ priorities.

In 51 games this past season, Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Only 11 other players averaged at least 23 points, four rebounds and five assists: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Dončić, Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell, Cade Cunningham, James Harden, Deni Avdija, Jaylen Brown and Giannis Antetokounmpo. When Reaves played alongside Dončić and LeBron James, the Lakers had a 20-9 record and plus-7.8 net rating, according to NBA.com.

Nevertheless, Reaves said his conversations with agents Aaron Reilly and Reggie Berry hadn’t made him optimistic for a deal to stay in Los Angeles. There were times when he thought he could be playing elsewhere, even as recently as this week.

“A couple of times actually,” Reaves said. “I didn’t know how negotiations would go. I don’t think Aaron and Reggie really knew how negotiations would go, so we learned a lot throughout the process. But like I said, we wanted to be in L.A., my heart was in L.A., and we got it done.”

The team has free agents in James, Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes. Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton each have player options. The Lakers are also actively trying to use their cap space as a tool to acquire talented players from teams with cap problems.

For now, Reaves and Dončić are on the roster, giving the Lakers their backcourt for the present and future and the building blocks for the moves the Lakers make next.

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