Lakers’ Austin Reaves reason why deal looks even better after Spurs’ hefty new deal

Given the sizeable new contract signed by the Spurs, the Austin Reaves contract with the Lakers appears even more favorable.

Going into the 2023 offseason, Austin Reaves’ future was the main topic of discussion for the Los Angeles Lakers.
As a restricted free agent, Reaves was anticipated to draw a lot of interest given his performance on the NBA Playoffs’ biggest stage.

The Lakers ultimately had the option to match any contract that Reaves signed, but if another NBA team had offered Reaves the maximum amount of money he was capable of earning, the Lakers could have suffered a serious setback.
Reaves had the option of signing a contract worth roughly $100 million, which would have cost the Lakers a cap hit of more than $30 million in years three and four.

The Lakers were able to outright sign Reaves to a four-year, $53.8 million deal without having to worry about any sort of matching. This came as a huge surprise because it was anticipated that a team with cap space, like the San Antonio Spurs, would extend Reaves a contract in order to either sign him or swindle the Lakers.

Reaves acknowledged that he had discussions with the Spurs, but that didn’t end up happening.
The Spurs have signed a homegrown player to a significant new contract now that the incident is in the past.
Guard Devin Vassell signed a five-year, $146 million extension with San Antonio on Monday.

The Lakers’ Austin Reaves contract looks even better in comparison to the Spurs’ Devin Vassell deal.

To be clear, Vassell will receive more than twice the amount Reaves will receive under his current contract from the Spurs under this new extension. Reaves makes an average of $13.45 million a year, while Vassell makes an average of $29 point2 million a year.

Vassell is a capable player who is younger than Reaves. It is reasonable to claim that Vassell has a greater chance of developing into a true second option on a playoff team.
Even so, Reaves demonstrated that he has the potential to do so by winning the FIBA World Cup and the NBA Playoffs.

Right now, the contributions that the two players make to the game are comparable. Vassell had a 36-minute scoring average of 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists during the previous season. He made 78 percent of his free throw attempts while shooting 43.9% from the field, 38.7% from three, and 43.9% overall. Reaves had a 36-minute scoring average of 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. He made 86.4% of his free throws and shot 52.9% from the field, 39.8% from three-point range, and 39.8% overall.

Vassell scored more points but was also in a position to be a No. 1 option that is offensive. Reaves does not enjoy the same freedom because he must always show respect to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Reaves has an advantage defensively (at least based on sophisticated statistics).
Last season, Reaves recorded a 0.1, while Vassell recorded a -0.9 Defensive Box Plus/Minus.
Average is regarded as having a DBPM of zero.

Vassell does not appear to be the kind of player who merits earning close to $30 million per season, and the Spurs are being dunk on as a result.
The Spurs had to spend the money and it makes sense to bring back an employee they have faith in, even though the output might not be worth $30 million.
After all, there is a salary ceiling, so it is preferable to invest in someone like Vassell than to overpay for subpar free agents.

But it shows how good of a deal the Lakers got on Austin Reaves, at the very least. Vassell would not have received the same contract from the Spurs this offseason if Reaves had been selected in the first round instead of him.
He chose to stay with the Lakers instead, which cost less than half as much.