This offseason, Austin Reeves and the Lakers reached a new contract of $56 million for four years. At that time, the whole league was surprised. Many people didn’t understand why Reeves accepted such a low price to return to the team. Even many managers in the Lakers believe that Reeves will not come back. The Lakers really couldn’t offer Reeves a big contract, but in the end, when Pelinka finished signing Reeves, the public screen was covered with amazing barrage.
Earlier, it was reported that the Rockets gave Reeves 80 million yuan for four years, but he still chose to return to the Lakers. But today, it was revealed that the contract given by the rocket was not 80 million yuan, but as high as 100 million yuan in four years. ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon reported that the Rockets had focused on Reeves before choosing Van Jordan, and their plan had already given an offer of $100 million for four years. But in the end, the Rockets chose to retreat after much consideration. They didn’t think Reeves was expensive, but simply thought that the Lakers would match this offer. They had no reason to let Reeves go.
The Rockets didn’t want to waste time on a player with a high probability of returning to the Lakers, so they focused on Van Jordan. Tim MacMahon finally even bluntly said that if the Rockets offered Reeves an offer and the Lakers didn’t choose to match, then the Rockets wouldn’t get Van Jordan. They will take Reeves as the team leader, then pursue Tommy Tam and increase the contract offer for Daluo.
Unfortunately, in the face of the privilege given by the Rockets, Reeves did not take active actions to convince the Rockets to make an offer in the end. He chose to interrupt contact and actively communicate with the Lakers. According to the Arenas rule, the Lakers can only give the draft Reeves a maximum of $56 million for four years, and Reeves can get an offer of more than 100 million for four years in the free market, but there is an additional clause, that is, once Reeves gets an offer of more than 100 million for four years from other teams, the Lakers can ignore the rules and have the right to match.
In theory, if Reeves wants to maximize the benefits, he can use the rocket to raise the price and let them report 100 million yuan for four years. Whether the Lakers choose to match or not, Reeves can be invincible and secure $100 million, but he gave up this right. We can only say that Reeves absolutely loves the Lakers. He likes to play with LeBron James, and he hopes to finish the empty catch with thick eyebrows. From a practical point of view, joining the Rockets is really attractive.
Reeves’ foul-making ability in the Lakers is called Little Harden. The reconstructed rocket needs a young potential star who can lead the team. Reeves’ offensive and defensive performance is also extremely brave. Such a player is a perfect candidate for the Rockets to build the Uduka system. Reeves averaged 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the regular season last season, with a shooting percentage of 52.9% and a three-point shooting percentage of 40%. Reeves by going up one flight of stairs averaged 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the playoffs, among which his three-point shooting percentage was as high as 44.3%.
It is worth mentioning that in the last 11 games of Reeves’ regular season, he averaged 19.8 points, 6.1 assists and helped the Lakers play 9-2. Without Reeves’ superb performance, the Lakers might not even be in the seventh place in the West. It is interesting that Reeves is strong when he is strong, not just in the face of warriors. Reeves is the only player in the Lakers team who still has a significant improvement in data shooting percentage in the series of the Western Conference finals against the Nuggets. He averaged 21.3 points and 5.3 assists in 39.8 minutes, shooting 54.9% from the field and shooting 56% from three points. As a draft in 2021, Reeves took a two-way contract and got 56 million yuan for four years, which is a counterattack. Such a player who came from the bottom, leaving his four-year $100 million behind, drastically reduced his salary by 44 million, which is very difficult for most people. This is too difficult.