Nightcap Hour 2: Lakers GIVE Austin Reaves the BAG + Kawhi WON’T Sign Extension with Pistons OR Heat if TRADED + BIG3 Week 2 PREVIEW + Alyssa Thomas SUSPENDED for FOUL on Caitlin Clark

**Shannon Sharpe** (0:00)
Austin Reaves is signing a four-year, 185 million maximum contract to return to the Lakers with a player option for the final season in 2029-2030. Reaves declined his $15 million option for the new match deal. Lakers initially offered Reaves $30 million, but they were forced to increase it to 46 per year after the Pistons started to aggressively pursue him. Joe, you like this?
Yeah, I'm happy for AR., Ocho.
Get your money, man. You know what I mean? Second round pick, coming out, I mean, undrafted. He was undrafted.

**Iso Joe Johnson** (0:37)
Yeah, undrafted.

**Shannon Sharpe** (0:39)
Coming out of Oklahoma, he's an Arkansas guy. He's from Arkansas.
I think he really, really got it out the mud, bruh. I'm talking about year after year, improving, being a better player, understanding this crap. You know, his handle, getting real crafty. Obviously, being a deadly shooter, a guy who can really score the ball, who you can really rely on.
I'm happy for him. I think he kind of still get the Lakers a little wiggle room, don't it? I mean, he didn't go for that. They could have given him five for 240

**Iso Joe Johnson** (1:10)
Yeah.

**Chad Johnson** (1:12)
Yeah, they ain't, hey, hey, hey.

**Shannon Sharpe** (1:14)
Yeah, they ain't want to do that because they didn't tie your hands too much. It's just like Detroit. I'm curious to see what they're going to get during.

**Iso Joe Johnson** (1:20)
You know what I mean?

**Shannon Sharpe** (1:21)
They ain't trying to give him that super match damn sure, because making third team all NBA, he's eligible for the super match.

**Iso Joe Johnson** (1:27)
He ain't getting that.

**Shannon Sharpe** (1:31)
Yeah, but I'm happy for AR, bro. What you think? How you feel about your Lakers, man? You like AR back? Yeah, look, Luca made it abundantly clear that he would rather have Luca, that any, you know, Yonis or anybody else they could have traded for to bring in.

**Chad Johnson** (1:46)
Yeah.

**Shannon Sharpe** (1:47)
It's Luca's team now.

**Chad Johnson** (1:49)
Yeah.

**Shannon Sharpe** (1:50)
And you got to appease him because you don't want to have him leave. And normally, Lakers superstars don't leave. Kareem didn't leave, Magic didn't leave, Worthy didn't leave, Wilt retired, Baylor retired, Jerry West retired. Shaq really was the only one that really left. We'll see what happens with LeBron. But when you go back, Kobe stayed. When you look at, say, the Lakers' top 10 players, most of them retired. That was their final stop. If they were drafted there, they stayed there. If they got traded there, they stayed there. We'll see, like I said, we'll see what happens with LeBron. But Lucas, I think Lucas said, look, I want to play with AR.
But I don't think this makes them a championship-containing team. When you're back in that bad defensively, Joe. Yeah. Your neck, the three players that you put us beside them, they got to be like San Antonio. They got to be like OKC.
I agree. They ain't raising no hell. No. They ain't raising no hell. You know, Lucas going to come out hot, get you 14-16 in the first quarter, probably in the game with 30, you know, 32, 40
Austin Reaves, Austin Reaves, he can handle the ball, can shoot the three, can get to the float game, get all the way to the rim. He's phenomenal. He's gotten better and better and better and better every single year.
Yeah, but I think, I don't think everybody expected the performance that he had this past season. So coming into this season with this new contract, y'all know it's gonna bring expectations.

**Chad Johnson** (3:30)
Yeah.

**Shannon Sharpe** (3:30)
Expectations to be an elite offensive guy night in and night out. What really helped that LeBron missed the start of the season. So now, he basically all the shots are divvied up between him and Luka.

**Chad Johnson** (3:45)
Yeah.

**Shannon Sharpe** (3:46)
So now LeBron has to find his way back in. He saw how well they were playing. He couldn't upset that apple cart.

**Chad Johnson** (3:53)
No.

**Shannon Sharpe** (3:53)
So he's like, you know what? I don't believe I'm the third best player. I think I'm the second best player. I'll concede Luka. Luka is 15 years younger than I am. Yes. I'll concede that. But I don't believe Austin Reaves is a better player than me. But he had to bite his tongue and says, hey, look how well they're playing. I can't come back in and start jacking up shots and say, I'm the number two player. He couldn't do that. And that gave Austin Reaves the confidence to go out there. And LeBron has always believed in Austin Reaves. From day one, you look at Phil Handy, how he talked about how LeBron embraced him. You see in the Grizzlies series, how LeBron gave him the ball. Now go do your thing, bro.