Austin Reaves reveals why he rejected $90m offer from the LA Lakers, ‘something I never thought that I would do…’

Austin Reaves says he still wants to be an LA Laker after rejecting contract extension

In rejecting the extension, Reaves is betting on himself. He thinks he’s justified a larger contract because of his contributions alongside James and Doncic last season.

That opens up the possibility of Reaves leaving the Lakers next offseason. But he says he wants to remain in LA, just with a bigger contract.

Speaking to ESPN, he explained, “It’s the same that I’ve always done, going back to high school and college: betting on myself. With it being my third contract, we felt like my second one was the most that we could get.

“I’ve said a million times today already, I want to be here. I want to figure this out, and I want to be a Laker for life. So that’s the main thing. Turning down $90 million is something I never thought that I would do. I’m pretty sure a lot of people know this.

“My grandma called my mom two weeks after we turned it down and was like, he needs to take it. He needs to take it. But, at the end of the day, it’s a business. Like I said, I love LA. They’ve treated me very, very well since I’ve been here. The fans, the organization. So, I have nothing but respect and gratitude for all of them and I want to be here.”

If he’s fighting for leverage with the Lakers, perhaps it’s not the smartest move to let them in on the peer pressure he is under from his family to sign! But it’s reassuring for Lakers fans knowing the ball is in their front office’s court.

Austin Reaves explains LA Lakers’ struggles last season

The Lakers had championship expectations when they traded for Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks. They showed promise throughout the regular season, despite Doncic not reaching his brilliant best, but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That was a disappointing end to a promising season. Reaves attributes the loss to a lack of time together as a team post-Doncic trade and thinks things will be different moving forward, now that the team has an entire preseason to prepare.

He said, “I felt like last year we were kind of stuck to playing one way because we didn’t have time. We kind of rolled the balls out and played off talent because that’s what was thrown together at that point.

“We tried as much as we could try, and Coach schemed as much as he could scheme, but not having the time really affected us during the playoffs.

“We’ll have that this year. We’ll be able to win, and if stuff hits the fan and we’re not playing well, we’ll have different looks we can throw at people, different schemes, different things we can do offensively and defensively.

“The time means a lot, and we’re going to take advantage of that.”

The Lakers have a revamped roster after signing DeAndre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia alongside their big three of Doncic, James, and Reaves. JJ Redick will be grateful for this time over the offseason to mold that collection of talent into a team.