All is well with the Los Angeles Lakers and Austin Reaves now, but the franchise considered an alternative world where the star was playing elsewhere. Ultimately, the Lakers inked Reaves to a new $185 million contract, but the team also smartly considered different options.
Prior to the news, the Lakers considered a blockbuster trade with the Miami Heat for guard Tyler Herro, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. Instead, the Heat moved Herro in a major trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Before Herro joined Milwaukee in the Antetokounmpo trade and the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a four-year, $185 million max deal with Austin Reaves, the Lakers had trade discussions surrounding Herro and Kel’el Ware, which would’ve involved multiple first-round draft picks, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote in a June 28, 2026, story titled, “NBA Intel: Jaylen Brown trade talks, Jalen Duren’s free agency, Nikola Jokic’s future, Tyler Herro, more.” “In addition, the Brooklyn Nets also did due diligence and gauged the price tag for Herro, HoopsHype has learned.
“Heading into the upcoming season, Herro is on an expiring $33 million deal and is expected to continue to draw trade interest, with many executives around the league curious if Milwaukee will eventually trend more towards a full rebuild or maintain a competitive team with the players acquired for Antetokounmpo.”
Here’s what you need to know about the latest Lakers rumors and news.
Lakers Rumors: LA Considered Trading for Heat Star Tyler Herro Over Austin Reaves
For the Lakers, it would have been unlikely that the team traded for Herro and also re-signed Reaves. It appears Herro was a contingency plan in case the team could not reach an agreement with Reaves.
Herro is heading into the final season of a four-year, $120 million contract and would have represented less of a financial commitment than Reaves. Yet, the Lakers would have also had to give up multiple first-round picks to land Herro via trade.
The guard has a $33 million cap hit for the 2026-27 season.
The Lakers & Austin Reaves Were $35 Million Apart Amid Negotiations: Insider
The news comes as the Lakers and Reaves were initially about $35 million apart during contract negotiations, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. In the end, Los Angeles opted to increase their offer to Reaves and keep the guard with the Lakers.
“I do think the Austin Reaves contract, what we saw was a fascinating situation of leverage,” Windhorst explained in a June 26, episode of “The Hoop Collective” podcast. “The Lakers, from my knowledge, he signed a four years, $185 (million). From what I was told, the Lakers were in the range of five years, $150 (million) for Austin Reeves a couple of days ago, $30 million a year.
“Very good contract, significantly higher than what he was making right now. And I mean, it wasn’t their final offer clearly, but that’s where they were in the range of. And some teams in the league who thought they might have a shot at Austin were like, ‘Wow, if that’s where they’re at, we might be able to get them.’”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Lakers Nearly Traded for $120 Million Star & Cut Ties With Austin Reaves: Insider appeared first on HEAVY.