Reject the Lakers maximum salary of 89 million in 4 years! Reeves doesn t want this maximum salary!

Just just now, a reporter revealed that Reeves rejected the four-year, $89 million maximum salary renewal offered by the Lakers. Not a rumor or a suspense. His decision was hardly hesitant. This former undrafter, in its fourth year in the league and its value soared, chose to give up the "highest offer" allowed by the current rules and hand over the future to the free market.

In fact, this so-called "maximum salary" is just the limit operation under the "early bird right" clause. It is not the same as a maximum salary contract in the free market sense.

For the undraft, the NBA rules set the ceiling of "playing well and not turning over immediately" from the beginning. After completing a 4-year contract in the first round rookie, the team has the full bird right, and can prioritize any offer. It can provide up to 5 years and salary increase year by year. The 5-year, 240 million or even higher contracts you can see everywhere in advance. And the team loses the draft - even if they become stars, the team usually has only the "early bird right", the contract period is locked for 4 years, and the annual salary increase is limited. The team's first year of new contract can only be 140% of his salary the previous year, or the average league salary (the one with the highest).

In fact, the Lakers were not surprised that the offer was rejected this time, and Reeves didn't need to hesitate. To put it bluntly, it was just a formality, because the Lakers also knew that it was impossible for Reeves to nodded in signing at such a price, and the young Reeves also thought he had the ability and dared to wait for a year to take out a bigger contract.

After all, is it because of the background problem mentioned above that I wrote a similar article a few days ago with an average of 21.9 points per game to 14 million? He only averaged 24 points per game and only had 100 million in 4 years! They really don't deserve the big contract. This simply mentions that "original background" will make the management different from them, but in fact, they are even more naked in terms of money.

Take Jordan Poole as an example. I don’t know why I first thought of him. As the 28th pick in the first round of 2019, Poole broke out at the end of the rookie contract, averaging 18.5 points per game. The Warriors immediately gave a four-year, $140 million contract without hesitation. At that time, Reeves' performance on the court was not inferior, but because of the undraft, the Lakers could only renew his contract with 53.8 million in 2023 - which was already the limit under the rules at that time.

Two players who are close to their average score, efficiency, playing style and age, can easily get 140 million, while the other can only be "priced according to the system" within the terms and conditions framework. This is the inequality created by the system. It is not the team's stinginess, but the NBA's starting point setting has long determined the difference in the initial contract structure.

Over the past two years, Reeves has completed the transition from role player to the team's third core. He can organize the ball with the ball, start the pick-and-roll, end without the ball, and play a guest-playing point guard. He has performed many life-and-death battles in the playoffs, and last season he averaged 16.9 points and 4.3 assists, with a real shooting percentage of over 64%. This data level is a price code starting from 30 million in the free market.

And this offer from the Lakers not only does not match the amount, but also does not have the home team advantage that they usually see in the year (other teams can give you an extra year). Under the NBA labor-management agreement, the "early bird clause" can only be given in this way. The contract is called "maximum salary" in form, but it is essentially the "maximum effort" within the policy. If the Lakers wait for him to become a full free agent in the summer of 2026, if the Lakers protect bird rights and are willing to renew for 5 years, they can provide a maximum period of years + the maximum increase, that is, 190 million in 5 years - the premise is that they are willing to wait and don't be snatched away by other teams. Of course, I believe that if the Lakers give such a price next year, only a fool will leave.

Reeves knows how much he is worth, and he knows that staying in the Lakers is a sentiment, but it may not be the best choice. He grew up too fast, and old rules tied up his premium abilities. Since I chose the quotation and refused, the next option I gave Reeves is next summer. If you stay in the team, then as mentioned above, the Lakers can give up to 190 million in five years; if he chooses other teams at that time, he can get a "big contract", which is about 120 million in four years. And if he can enter the All-Star or the Best Team, he can sign up to 25% of the maximum salary of about 157 million in four years.

Of course, Reeves, who is more than 10 million now, is very cost-effective, and even if he signs 30 million next year, it is not unacceptable. But if you really follow the maximum salary standard, then Fis may be almost intriguing. Of course, as mentioned above, it is not that the Lakers must give so much, but that can give so much at most. Referring to Van Jordan back then, in 2020, he could theoretically sign $163 million with the Raptors for five years, but the final sign was $85 million for four years, far lower than his "max salary".

There are strengths for these, but they may not be All-Stars at the time, and it may not even be a very high ceiling. Other teams will not provide players with such a large contract, and the team still has room for bargaining. The Lakers can also lower the price and sign a 120 million yuan or higher 4 years, which is similar to his other team next year. It is still a big temptation for Reeves. After all, the money is not less than elsewhere. It is still a familiar environment and a big city.

The undraft always has to be one step behind those first-round players before they can get closer to the real high and maximum salary. Once growth exceeds expectations, the first thing that is pulled apart is the understanding between the team and the players. After all, they get a relatively small salary and do a lot of work.