How the Lakers signed Austin Reaves and kept their cap space
Laker fans woke up Wednesday morning to news that Austin Reaves has re-signed with the LakeShow. The 4-year, 185 million deal is certainly a well-deserved but lucrative amount at face value.
However, thanks to the Lakers owning Reaves’ bird rights, the signing will not subtract from the Lakers’ available cap space. Here is how the Lakers are doing it, and how much money they have left to spend.
Bird Rights
Because the Lakers previously had Austin Reaves on the roster for 3 or more years, they own his bird rights. These bird rights give the Lakers two major advantages.
Not only were the Lakers able to offer Reaves the longest contract and the most money, but they were also able to go over the salary cap to sign Austin Reaves. That is why Reaves new extension does not take away from the Lakers available money.
The Lakers will wait to officially ink Reaves until their work in free agency is done. Once they have spent their available money, they will go over the cap to acquire Reaves. This ensures his contract will only count toward its $ 20.9 million cap hold.
Money to Spend
So, how much money do the Lakers have to spend now this summer? According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Lakers have about $50 million available. That number will change depending on the player option decisions of Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton.
The Lakers can also free up more cap space by trading the expiring contracts of Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, and Jarred Vanderbilt. This is a move anticipated by many to occur at some point.
The Lakers will need to use their available money to acquire a starting-caliber center and get some depth across the board. Re-signing LeBron James would also have to be factored in.
