The Brooklyn Nets are hoping to make significant improvements to the roster after finishing the 2025-26 NBA season with a lowly 20-62 record that ultimately rewarded them with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. While Brooklyn will bring in a talented player with that pick once Jun. 23 comes around, the Nets could also look to free-agency to add talent to the team.
“Multiple front-office sources around the league, granted anonymity to freely discuss an opposing player, expect Reaves to have interest from the Brooklyn Nets, with a four-year, $178.5 million contract expected to be offered,” Dan Woike wrote of the Nets and Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves for The Athletic. Reaves is expected to earn a massive payday in free-agency and Brooklyn is one of the teams that could give him the maximum amount of money he’s eligible for from outside teams.
“League sources said the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks are among a group of interested teams that can create space to make competitive offers. Other teams could also emerge,” Woike continued by explaining that the Nets will have competition from other teams to attract Reaves. “At the same time, league sources said teams are approaching free agency with increased caution because of the restrictions tied to the league’s first and second tax aprons, potentially leading to more conservative spending than in previous summers.”
If Reaves stays with the Lakers, he is eligible to sign a five-year deal worth $239 million ($47.8 million per year), but if he signs elsewhere, he can only sign a contract for four years and $178.5 million ($44.6 million per year). When it comes to sheer average annual value (AAV), there isn’t much of a difference between Reaves re-signing with Los Angeles and signing elsewhere, but getting an extra year on his contract is definitely an aspect worth considering.
Reaves, 28, is coming off the best season of his five-year career as he averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 49.0% from the field and 36.0% from behind the three-point line. The Nets could free up around $48 million in cap space this summer through various moves so they would have the money available to give Reaves a max contract if he wants to go to Brooklyn.
Dan Woike of The Athletic on the Nets and Lakers free-agent G Austin Reaves:
“Multiple front-office sources around the league… expect Reaves to have interest from the Brooklyn Nets, with a four-year, $178.5 million contract expected to be offered.”https://t.co/kGYtrunR5Q
— Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) June 12, 2026
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Report: Nets expected to offer Lakers’ Austin Reaves a max contract
