LOS ANGELES — The Lakers have agreed to a deal with restricted free agent Austin Reaves, getting him on a four-year, $56 million contract that was the maximum allowed from the Lakers.
A former undrafted free agent, Reaves worked his way into the starting lineup, where he cemented his place among the team’s core in the postseason, averaging 16.9 points while shooting better than 44% from 3-point range. During the regular season, he was one of the team’s most efficient players, shooting 52.9% from the field.
Reaves’ contract includes a player option in the final season.
He joins forward Rui Hachimura and point guard D’Angelo Russell as members of the Lakers’ “young core” that general manager Rob Pelinka said the team would prioritize in free agency. Less than 24 hours into free agency, the Lakers had agreements with all three.
Russell agreed Saturday to a two-year, $36 million deal to stay with the team and will have a player option in the second year.
The agreements come as the Lakers near the end of a frantic start to free agency, with the team also agreeing to a two-year deal for former New Orleans center Jaxson Hayes. The Lakers agreed to deals with guard Gabe Vincent, forward Taurean Prince and forward Cam Reddish on Friday.
The Lakers acquired Russell at the NBA trade deadline in a deal that included Russell Westbrook, a trade that helped turn the team’s season around before it ended in the Western Conference finals.
Russell averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game after the trade, shooting 41.4% from three. He had strong moments in the Lakers’ wins in the postseason against Memphis and Golden State before struggling against the Nuggets. The Lakers moved him to the bench in Game 4.
He’ll come back to a backcourt that now includes Vincent.
Hayes is the backup center the Lakers sought to play behind Anthony Davis.
At 6 feel 11, Hayes is viewed by the Lakers as a physical player they believe can play a similar role to that of Dwight Howard in 2020, when the Lakers won their 17th NBA title.
Hayes, 23, spent his first four seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per game last season, when he played in only 47 games because of injury, starting two.
Hayes was sentenced last year to 450 hours of community service, 52 weeks of domestic-violence classes and three years of probation after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges that resulted from an incident with his girlfriend in Woodland Hills in July 2021.
Hayes was a first-round draft pick out of Texas in 2019, selected eighth overall by the Atlanta Hawks. He was acquired by New Orleans soon after the draft in a multiple-player deal.
