The Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason priority is not who you think it is

The Los Angeles Lakers’ priority heading into the offseason may not be the player you think it is. 

Even if the Los Angeles Lakers ended up losing to the Denver Nuggets in four games, what this team has done since the NBA Trade Deadline is quite an accomplishment. LeBron James is not in the business of consolation prizes at this point in his career, but the way the Lakers have played in the last few months will certainly catapult this team into the offseason in a positive way.

Heading into the offseason, the Lakers are still expected to be one of the more active teams – whether that be in trying to re-sign their in-house free agents to scouring the trade market, the Lakers will have their hands full this offseason.

One player that they really, really don’t want to see walk out of the Lakers’ facilities is Austin Reaves.

So much so, that according to a recent report, it sure seems as if the Lakers’ top priority this offseason is re-signing Reaves. On the surface, that perhaps may not be the one player that anyone would think the Lakers would prioritize during the offseason, but when you look at just how important he has been to the team this season, it begins to make sense.

Austin Reaves has been a key part of the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff success

Specifically in this playoff run, Reaves is averaging 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists on 46 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent shooting from 3-point range. In the series against the Denver Nuggets, you can argue that Reaves has been the most consistent player for the Lakers – averaging 23 points, six assists, and four rebounds per game on 55 percent shooting from the field and 56 percent shooting from 3-point range.

As an undrafted free agent signed by the Lakers in 2021, Reaves is set to become an unrestricted free agent. And he’s likely in line to sign one of the biggest free-agent contracts that an undrafted player has ever signed.

It seems as if the Lakers want to ensure that they find a way to keep him in the purple and gold for the foreseeable future. And you’d have to imagine that he’d want to remain a Laker as well. Playing next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis isn’t a terrible perk either.

You’d have to imagine that the Lakers’ roster will undergo some sort of change. But it sure is looking more and more like Austin Reaves won’t be part of that. Expect him to be a Laker next season.