NBA rumors: Before Austin Reaves decided to put pen to paper on a four-year, $56 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was one of the hottest commodities in the free agency market. The Houston Rockets were one of the teams that were heavily linked to a swoop for the 6-foot-5 shooting guard, which ultimately, never came to fruition.
NBA Rumors: Austin Reaves Was Rockets’ Plan B for Fred VanVleet
As it turns out, the Rockets had one very good reason as to why they ended their pursuit of Austin Reaves. This came in the form of Fred VanVleet’s $130 million max contract:
“Lakers guard Austin Reaves recently told All The Smoke on Showtime that the Rockets and Spurs were possibilities before he re-signed with the Lakers,” Scott said. “… The Rockets were also closely monitoring Reaves’ situation because they were prepared to make a big offer sheet if Fred VanVleet didn’t sign with them, sources said.”
It sounds like Raves was Plan B for the Rockets if they failed to sign VanVleet. Well, it worked out well for them as they now have a new cornerstone star in Houston.
One other team that was rumored to be in the mix for Reaves was the San Antonio Spurs. Apparently, the Spurs also backed out under the premise that they were going to be outbid by the Lakers anyway:
“The Spurs considered offering Reaves a restricted free agency sheet worth $21 million per season, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto said. “Ultimately, however, the Spurs were scared off by the widespread belief that the Lakers would match any offer sheet for Reaves and chose to preserve cap space as a salary dump destination for future draft pick compensation.”
In the end, it’s the Lakers fans who are smiling after Reaves agreed to remain in Hollywood for the foreseeable future. He will now look to build on his breakout campaign from last season amid LA’s title aspirations this year.
NBA Rumors: Austin Reaves Admits Wanting to Play for Bucks
Even before Austin Reaves joined the Lakers as an undrafted rookie in 2021, the former Wichita State and University of Oklahoma standout once hoped to play for the Milwaukee Bucks. Reaves made this revelation on his podcast appearance on Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes’ All the Smoke pod:
“Basically, we tiered teams — best fit for me,” Reaves said. “LA was I think (number) two on the list at the time. Milwaukee might have been one. But [the Lakers] were tier one.”
Do you think Austin Reaves would have been a great fit with the Bucks? Would he have gotten the chance to shine playing alongside the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday? These are all questions that will be left unanswered.
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