Austin Reaves and the dead-end road
No matter how you viewed the Spurs' reported pursuit of the Lakers' guard, it was never likely to result in his San Antonio arrival.
It truly has been the summer of Austin Reaves. No matter where you look these days it’s normal to come across two or three stories about the guy planted at the top of some of the industry’s most prominent outlets. Part of that is the Lakers brand, but much of it is a deserved result of the impact he’s made on the court.
Coming off an excellent season in Los Angeles, Reaves was easily the most interesting restricted free agent available, and the hype has only built with his performances on the FIBA World Cup stage. Last week, the Spurs’ name entered the conversation in a piece written by excellent Lakers beat writer Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Buha, citing mutiple unnamed sources, reported San Antonio was interested in offering Reaves a max contract but was “scared off” by Los Angeles’ insistence it would match any offer.
The Spurs, fresh off of having drafted No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, considered two offers for Reaves, according to multiple league sources not authorized to speak publicly. One for the maximum amount of dollars and years (approximately four years, $100 million) and a smaller, shorter structure (three years, $60 million). In both cases, if the Lakers matched the offer, Reaves’ salary would’ve ballooned for Los Angeles in the third and/or fourth year due to the rule informally known as the Arenas provision.
Ultimately, L.A.’s insistence that it would match any offer sheet Reaves signed scared off the Spurs and all other potential cap-space suitors.
The idea San Antonio was interested in Reaves shouldn’t be surprising in the slightest. He’s a versatile guard who can play on or off the ball, space the floor, attack the rim, and fill in the gaps as a secondary (and sometimes primary) playmaker. For all intents and purposes, he is what the Spurs had hoped Joshua Primo would eventually become. There’s an argument to be made his presence would’ve created even more of a crowd in the backcourt than already exists, but at this juncture most everyone on the San Antonio roster is still in “prove it” territory, and his skill set would’ve been a welcomed addition.
And yet, something about the sources’ information doesn’t quite make sense. If the Spurs were mentally willing and prepared to offer Reaves a max deal and assume that substantial financial risk, why would the Lakers’ threat to match scare them off their pursuit when they had so little to lose?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Corporate Knowledge to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.