By: Vianna Li

The Los Angeles Lakers wanted to lock up the key members of Lebron James’s supporting cast. The Lakers had an agreement with Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimur, the top 3 best agents. The agreement is to shake-up the enemies’ game and gain more victories.

Reaves, another top agent in the summer of 2022, had averaged 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the playoff as an undrafted guard. While Reaves could have gotten millions of dollars from the other teams, the Lakers re-signed him to a contract with the highest offer they could make.

Russell, a 27-year-old point guard,, was also retained by the Lakers. Russell, a 2019 all-star and 2015 lottery pick who has never quite reached his full potential, agreed to a two-year, $37 million contract.

After the Lakers were defeated by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals, general manager Rob Pelinka said, “We’re tremendously proud of this bunch.”

“Keeping that continuity is going to be very important. It’s a high priority to keep our core players together,” Pelinka said.

Hachimura offers size and quickness to the frontcourt with Anthony Davis, while Reaves and Russell James. The 25-year-old forward was acquired in a January trade from the Washington Wizards, and after an outstanding postseason performance, he received a three-year, $51 million contract. Hachimura led the way for the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs with 29 points and five three-pointers in a victory in Game 1. He had a playoff average of 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds.

The Lakers had discussed and got agreements with all players.