He has one season left on his contract after this one, and is expected to opt out of his contract this summer to receive a big payday. All indications are that he and the Lakers will work to come to a new agreement so he can stay, but it’s not necessarily a foregone conclusion that he will remain with them beyond this season.
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There certainly should be at least a couple more teams trying to nab him this offseason. Analyst and podcaster Kevin O’Connor said on his eponymous show that the Utah Jazz will be a team that goes after Reaves (h/t SLC Dunk).
“I think the Utah Jazz will be a team that will have a lot of interest in Austin Reaves this summer. There will be teams that will make a big max offer for Reaves, and he will have that option. So the Lakers, Rich Paul isn’t saying, but I’m sure Rich Paul has the exact same information about where Reaves could go this offseason.”
O’Connor added that the possibility of losing Reaves this summer could be a reason for the Lakers to trade him before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. He mentioned Trey Murphy III as an ideal trade target and said he likes Murphy more than Reaves on this particular Lakers team.
Murphy is an athletic 6-foot-8 forward who is averaging 22.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 49.8% from the field and 38.8% from 3-point range this season. While his New Orleans Pelicans are in last place in the Western Conference with a 10-34 record, at least one report has indicated that they are not willing to make a significant trade at this time.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Analyst: Jazz will have ‘big interest’ in Austin Reaves this summer