The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into a franchise-altering offseason centered on Austin Reaves, who is expected to decline his $14.8 million player option for the 2026-27 season and test unrestricted free agency — a move that has reignited debate after former executive Vlade Divac said he would not sign Reaves to a $241 million extension.
Reaves’ decision, widely anticipated around the league, carries immediate weight: he is expected to become an unrestricted free agent and the Lakers are expected to try to re-sign him while other teams could offer lucrative contracts on the open market. Reaves has publicly expressed interest in staying in Los Angeles, but the open market could change the calculus for both player and team.
Divac stirred the conversation when he appeared on Mohr Stories with Jay Mohr in 2025 and was asked directly whether he would sign Reaves to an extension worth $241 million. "I love his game, but I wouldn’t as a GM," Divac said. He added, "As a fan, I would because he’s a great guy, he’s a great player, but he’s not on Luka’s level, let’s say." Those lines — framed by Divac’s split between personal admiration and executive skepticism — have become a reference point for how teams and fans value Reaves.
That contrast carries context. The Lakers are building around Luka Doncic, and Reaves is seen inside the organization as one of the major contract priorities of this offseason. The blunt dollar figures involved — a player option of $14.8 million versus talk of a $241 million extension — are why the team’s next moves matter now: Reaves’ choice will shape roster construction and the offseason’s narrative.
Divac’s comments also land with historical friction. As a former executive, he passed on Luka in the 2018 draft when he selected Marvin Bagley III with the No. 2 overall pick. Bagley later became one of the biggest draft busts of 2018, while Luka Doncic — along with Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson from that same class — has gone on to star-level careers. That 2018 decision is the subtext in much of the current debate: when a former GM weighs in on a superstar-adjacent contract, listeners hear both the assessment and the memory of a high-profile miss.
The tension is simple and public. Divac split his evaluation into two voices — fan and executive — noting he admires Reaves but would not back a nine-figure commitment in a front-office role. At the same time the Lakers are expected to make re-signing Reaves a priority, and Reaves has signaled he wants to remain in Los Angeles. Other teams, however, could counter with lucrative offers that might test that mutual interest.
What happens next is plain: Reaves is expected to decline his 2026-27 player option and enter free agency, and the Lakers are expected to try to re-sign him. The concrete contest ahead will be between the Lakers’ willingness to meet market-driven offers and competing clubs’ ability to present Reaves with more money or a different role. For the moment the most consequential fact belongs to the player: Austin Reaves will soon choose whether to stay in Los Angeles or take the open market — and that choice will set the tone for a franchise-altering offseason.
