The Los Angeles Lakers have a history of catering to their superstars and making them feel wanted and appreciated. From Magic Johnson to Luka Doncic, the franchise has made itself feel like a cushy, warm place for franchise players across multiple eras.
Recently, that type of treatment was extended down to Austin Reaves, who has emerged as an All-Star caliber guard and a load-bearing fixture on the team. On Wednesday, he agreed to a four-year, $185 million contract that he will officially sign within a few weeks once the Lakers conclude their business in free agency.
Negotiations on this new contract reportedly took a week, and according to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Lakers made the Arkansas native feel right at home during those talks.
“Shortly after the NBA Finals, Lakers ownership and front office met with Austin Reaves and his agents at the team’s practice facility in Los Angeles,” Charania said.
“And it was in a private event room, and they had all of the personal touches for Austin Reaves in this meeting. They played his favorite country music, they had personalized AR-initialed pillows for Austin Reaves and everyone else that was in attendance. That’s all nice though, right? It’s nice to get AR-initialed pillows for yourself.”
Charania added that the Detroit Pistons were “coming aggressively” for Reaves in free agency. Reaves himself admitted that he had doubts for a little while that he would end up staying with the Lakers.
But the deal has been agreed to, and it marks the culmination of quite a journey for the country boy from Newark, Ark., a small town with a population of just over 1,000, who went undrafted in 2021. He will now become a very wealthy man, and if he isn’t already, he will likely be able to play golf, his favorite pastime, at any course in the world.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Insider on how Lakers catered to Austin Reaves during negotiations
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
