“Nothing takes you out of the championship window in the NBA and NFL like paying B players A money.” That was Colin Cowherd this week — taking aim, indirectly, at the Lakers’ front office. His focus? Austin Reaves. The Lakers’ rising star just declined a four-year, $89 million extension, betting he can land a max deal next summer. It’s a bold move that puts L.A. in a tough spot, drawing comparisons to Dak Prescott’s massive $231 million deal in Dallas — a contract many see as a cautionary tale. For Jeanie Buss, this could be the franchise’s next big gamble.
The debate over Reaves’s value is a fascinating one. On one hand, he’s coming off a career year, averaging over 20 points and nearly 6 assists per game. He’s become a fan favorite and a legitimate third option alongside LeBron James and Luka Dončić. On the other hand, as analyst Chris Broussard noted on The Herd, having three players on max or near-max contracts is “untenable,” especially given the Lakers’ other roster needs. Reaves wants to be paid like an “A player,” but Cowherd and others argue he’s a high-level “B player,” and paying him like a superstar could cripple the team’s ability to build a true championship contender.
Broussard went deeper, explaining the tricky situation the Lakers now find themselves in. “I do agree, I do think next year, let’s assuming he has a season like he had last year… he will get big money on the market,” he said. “Like he will leave the Lakers for big money elsewhere unless LeBron retires after this season and then… he could be the Lakers second guy. But Austin Reeves, as much as I like him… as the second guy on a championship team, I don’t think that’s the case.”
This is where the ghost of Jerry Jones comes in, a cautionary tale that Colin Cowherd laid out perfectly. The Dallas Cowboys owner has been widely criticized for giving quarterback Dak Prescott a massive, market-setting $240 million contract with $231 million guaranteed that hasn’t translated into playoff success. As former NFL QB Chris Simms said on The Dan Patrick Show, “You’re the highest-paid quarterback in the league… I don’t think you’re one of the top 10 quarterbacks in football.”
Cowherd hammered this point home, arguing it’s a classic case of a team overpaying for a very good, but not truly elite, player—a blunder that has left the Cowboys in a state of perpetual disappointment. “If you don’t make a move in one year, you’re either paying him [Reaves] $48 [million] or somebody else is paying him $43 [million],” Cowherd warned. “You got to get ahead of this thing and not be the Cowboys.”
(This is a developing story…)
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