After a turbulent season that started off badly and ended with good feelings in the playoffs, the Lakers have drawn some conclusions such as that the renewals of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura have absolute priority.
With that premise as their flag, Californians have to do the numbers and decide how far they are willing to go. With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt and Max Christie’s contracts guaranteed for the 2023-24 season, we’re talking about $92 million in commitment with a salary cap of $134 and a projected luxury tax cap of $165.
Knowing the starting point, in Los Angeles they already know that the cost of maintaining the two indicated players can be very high. With Reaves, some team is expected to be close to four years and $100 million, an offer they could match to keep him, while with Rui Hachimura we move a little lower, but not much.
According to sources from Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, the bidding for the Japanese forward could start in the range of $12-18 million per year, a figure that could grow with as many as seven teams currently having the cap space to far exceed those figures. Just like Reaves, Golds and Purples can match whatever they’re offered to keep him.
The truth is that the Lakers can not do much more than wait for events. They can offer 4 years and 50 million dollars to Reaves, but it would be strange if he accepted without listening to what the market has in store for him. The situation with Hachimura is similar and the point is that the sum of both contracts remains at 30 million euros per year, which is close to 50, which would complicate many of their ability to move in the market.
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