LeBron James will be a second order of business at best for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.
The Lakers will prioritize re-signing Austin Reaves in the summer over re-signing their longtime star James, Lakers reporter Jovan Buha said this week in a YouTube feature. Buha notes that Reaves’ long-term contract offer will be “more of a priority for the Lakers” than any potential short-term contract for James.
Reaves technically holds a $14.9 million player option for next season with the Lakers. But it will be a no-brainer for Reaves to turn down that option and test unrestricted free agency after averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game this season.
The Lakers’ stance here obviously makes perfect sense. Reaves just turned 28 years old and still has plenty of room for growth as a long-term co-star to their superstar forward Luka Doncic.
Meanwhile, James is now 41 and is playing out the remainder of his NBA career on a year-to-year basis. Thus, the Lakers would be wise not to mortgage any part of their future in order to accommodate James, who will be an unrestricted free agent himself this offseason.
Of course, there is a bit of a delicate balancing act for the Lakers here as well, especially since James has reportedly been feeling disrespected by them for at least the last year or so. We know James is still hoping for a fairly sizable figure in free agency this summer, so the chances of a split with the Lakers seem to be getting stronger every day.
