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Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers

Jenna Barber, Austin Reaves’ girlfriend, shared her instant reaction after the Los Angeles Lakers star signed a four-year, $185M max contract on Wednesday.

Notably, Barber shared a photo of Reaves dropping to the turf at a golf course after being informed that his deal was done on her Instagram stories.

Barber also re-tweeted ESPN’s news post with the caption, “Our Place!!!” along with purple heart emojis. The caption was Barber’s way of suggesting that she and Reaves would rather remain in Los Angeles than head elsewhere in free agency.

‌Austin Reaves ‘Hated’ Negotiations

By signing a contract extension before the June 29 deadline, Austin Reaves ensured he wouldn’t hit free agency. He told The Athletic’s Dan Woike that it was important for him to put his contract situation on the back burner — for his own sanity.

“I didn’t like it,” Reaves said of the contract negotiations. “It was weird. It just was, I mean, it’s just a lot of ‘What ifs.’ I just like to know where I’m going to be.”

“I mean, it was a breath of fresh air because I hadn’t stopped thinking about where I was going to be. And it’s just like a sigh of relief,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I mean, regardless of whatever played out, I’m obviously grateful and in a good position to take care of the people I love. My heart’s been in L.A. Every morning I wake up, I’m just like, ‘I hope we can get this done today.’

“And even if I was frustrated through the process when we (weren’t) getting the numbers we wanted, the next morning I woke up, it was still the same thing: ‘Hopefully we can get this done today.'”

Lakers Prepare for Free Agency

With the Reaves taken care of, the Lakers now shift their focus to other free agents like LeBron James, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes. The Rob Pelinka-led front office also faces critical questions on the futures of Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, both of whom have player options for the 2026-27 season.

The Lakers could reportedly open up to $47M in cap space if they let James, Kennard, Hachimura and the rest of their free agents walk, and if Ayton and Smart decline their player options. In such a scenario, they’ll be able to make aggressive offers for restricted free agents Peyton Watson and Jalen Duren, as well as pursue trades for difference-making players such as Jarrett Allen and Herbert Jones. The Lakers have also been linked with free agents such as Robert Williams III and Mitchell Robinson.

Their top priority remains shoring up their defense, something GM Pelinka made clear after their second-round playoff loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Former Lakers NBA champion Danny Green also feels the Lakers must shore up their defense to have a real shot to compete with the Spurs and Thunder next season.

“Defensive guys, right? Defense and shooters,” Green said of the Lakers’ main offseason priorities, via LakersNation. “That’s no real secret or science to it. If you wanna have a great winning team, you need some superstars and you need a good quality big man that can rebound and some 3-and-D guys around him [Luka Doncic].”

The Lakers can make offer sheets for RFAs Watson and Duren starting on July 1. That would trigger a 48-hour window for the Nuggets and Pistons to match the contract and retain his rights, or risk losing him to the Lakers.