The Los Angeles Lakers are set to welcome back Austin Reaves just in time for their marquee rematch against the visiting New York Knicks on Thursday, March 6.
Reaves (right calf strain) is listed in the NBA official injury report, as probable to play, along with LeBron James (left foot injury management) and Luka Dončić (right knee contusion).
Reaves has missed the Lakers’ last two games since sustaining the calf injury in their 106-102 win over their crosstown rivals Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 28.
The Lakers are riding high on a seven-game win streak and have won 17 of their last 20 games heading into a rematch with the Knicks. They embarrassed the Knicks 128-112 in New York on Feb. 1. Then a few hours later, they pulled off the most shocking trade in NBA history to land Dončić from Dallas.
It will also mark the second face-off between Dončić and Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who were running mates in the Mavericks backcourt that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022.
The Knicks are coming off a stinging 114-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, March 4, with Karl-Anthony Towns missing the game due to a personal reason. Towns was not on the Knicks’ injury report for the Thursday clash which will be nationally televised on TNT.
It will be a critical game for the Lakers in their attempt to get a firm grip of the second seed before they embark on a tough four-game road trip beginning on Saturday, March 8, in Boston against their arch-rival and defending champion Celtics.
Austin Reaves’ Looming Extension
Reaves’ emergence as the Lakers’ third star has been a source of pride within the Lakers’ organization. But his star turn could also mean they have to pay him to retain him.
Reaves, 26, is extension-eligible beginning on July 6. The undrafted guard has already outplayed the four-year, $54 million extension he signed in the summer of 2023.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Reaves is expected to decline an extension offer from the Lakers this offseason and will opt out after next season to cash in on his star turn.
“How I expect this to play out is the Lakers will make their contract extension offer to Austin on July 6 or sometime around then and they will offer him about four years, $88 million-ish to 90 million,” The Athletic’s Lakers beat reporter said on his podcast “Buha’s Block” on Feb. 25. “Somewhere in that range, which if you average that out is about 22-23 million per year on an annual basis that is below Austin’s market value.”
Austin Reaves ‘Expected’ to Decline Extension This Summer
Reaves is on the midst of his best season in the NBA, averaging 19.1 points on 45/36/87 shooting split with 6.0 assists, and 1.1 steals, all career highs, and 4.2 rebounds.
“I suspect the Lakers will make the formal offer of an extension and say, ‘Hey, this is the most we can offer. We’d love for you to sign this and remain a Laker for the foreseeable future,” Buha continued. “I’d expect Austin to decline that and not sign that extension and then opt out after the 2025-26 season. He’s got a player option for 2026-27.”
But Buha was quick to add Reaves will try to remain with the team that believed in him and gave him his NBA shot.
“So, I think in that 2026 summer, he will opt out,” Buha added. “He will test free agency, and then he will try to remain a Laker long-term, but it’s gonna come down to what type of contract they offer him. He’s a guy who should be making at least $27-28+ million, if not $30+ million moving forward.”
