Magic Johnson was one of the stars of the Showtime Lakers that produced winning basketball. To win means to sacrifice for the greater good. And who better than Michael Cooper understands that part? That’s why the franchise legend is urging Austin Reaves to leave some money on the table so that succeeding as a team remains a priority.

“In order to keep him, that’s what you’re going to have to do,” Cooper said when asked whether the Lakers should sign Reaves to a max contract if it comes to that during an interview with the Lakers on SI’s Ryan Ward.

“Again, but again, if Luka is about winning, I mean, if Reaves is about winning, then he has to accept a little less money to get another player. But if you think that you’re a max player, you don’t play with the same team you had last year, you’re going to get the same results. You’re going to come up a little short.

“So again, in our era, players used to take a little less money so that they could help the organization achieve that maximum player. So that, you know, because if you don’t, you’ve got to look at San Antonio. It’s a team you are going to have to go through in order to win a championship. And can you go through, can you beat them with the players that you had last year? I don’t think so. Those are some of the things that you have to evaluate.

“But again, it all depends on AR. You want the whole thing or you want a little bit to help and get that most important prize that you probably, your best opportunity to get is going to be the next year or two. And that’s winning a championship.”

The Spurs went 62-20, the NBA’s second-best record, and reached the Finals behind Victor Wembanyama’s unanimous Defensive Player of the Year season, only to lose 4-1 to a New York Knicks team that came back from double-digit deficits in all four of those wins and claimed its first title since 1973.

That actually sharpens Cooper’s point rather than dating it: the Lakers don’t just have to get through a young, ascending Spurs core that’s locked in for years- they have to get through the defending champions in New York, and an Oklahoma City team that swept Los Angeles out of the second round before losing to San Antonio in the conference finals. The gauntlet Cooper is describing is, if anything, more crowded than what he suggests.

And “next year or two” isn’t just a turn of phrase. Three separate clocks are ticking down in Los Angeles at once. Reaves has to make a decision by June 29. LeBron James is already in free agency, with the Lakers’ exclusive negotiating window closing June 30. And Doncic is rehabbing an injury that determines what kind of team he’s walking back into. How those three resolve inside the same ten days will shape the roster far more than any one of them in isolation.

Cooper famously sacrificed a lucrative starting role and personal scoring glory to become the ultimate sixth man and defensive anchor alongside Magic Johnson and co. For Austin Reaves, the sacrifice is financial.

He will most certainly decline his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27. The option deadline is June 29, the day before free agency opens league-wide. Now that’s grossly underpaid, but his new contract could pay him up to $241 million over five years, should he choose to stay with the Lakers.

That ceiling is real, but so is the floor he’d be trading away from elsewhere. Sources have told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that Reaves’ decision won’t come down solely to a dollar figure, pointing to his repeated stance that he wants to play his entire career in Los Angeles.

Still, the Los Angeles Times’ Brad Turner has reported that, as he understands it, Reaves wants the max and isn’t necessarily leaning toward a hometown discount.

The Brooklyn Nets, sitting on roughly $44 million in cap space, are seen around the league as his most credible outside threat- reportedly ready to offer four years and $178.5 million with Detroit and Atlanta also mentioned as lurkers.

The realistic middle-ground outcome league insiders are floating sits in the $150-200 million range over four or five years. Run the math on that, and a “hometown” Lakers deal can land at or below what Brooklyn’s full max would pay him per year.

That’s the actual shape of the sacrifice Cooper is asking for, not symbolic loyalty, but potentially leaving real money on the table relative to what the open market would pay him to walk.

The Lakers are already tied with Luka Doncic’s $49.5 million contract, and AR’s $48.2 million per year deal will make additions even more difficult. Let’s not forget, they have $50 million in cap space this summer.

At most, they can consider $20-$30 million for James and re-sign Austin Reaves. Even the 28-year-old has said multiple times that he wants to retire as a Purple and Gold star. Meaning they can agree on a market-value contract underneath the absolute maximum tier.

It will be important since the Lakers are also trying to build out their roster into one that can compete for a championship alongside the likes of the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

But if Reaves were willing to take a bit less, it could make all the difference in the Lakers’ ability to add a real game-changing center and some defensive-minded wings.

Austin Reaves taking less money means Luka Doncic can get his demands fulfilled

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Doncic is in touch with both LeBron James and Austin Reaves since the season ended, but hasn’t pitched either player on returning to L.A. But the Slovenian has already outlined his roster decision that the front office is scrambling to find.

Ahead of his second full season, a lob threat who can protect the rim remains a priority. But there’s more.

“I think mainly shooters and a big man who can run the pick-and-roll and jump so I can pass to him,” Doncic said on Drafteados YouTube channel. “If I have shooters, they won’t double me as much, and it helps me out. I think I always need shooters around me because I usually get double-teamed a lot, so I think I need shooters. And some centers who can jump high and block shots.”

Austin Reaves’ contract situation could help the Lakers sign the stars Doncic wants. Without the Slovenian, the Lakers made it to the second round. If he is healthy and the roster construction is on point, then contending should be on the cards.

Whichever way this breaks, Cooper’s framing is the one this will get measured against. A max deal wouldn’t make Reaves a villain- by every account, he’s been underpaid relative to his production, and he’s earned the right to chase his number.

But if he signs for the ceiling while the roster around Doncic stays functionally the same, Cooper’s verdict is already sitting there waiting- that’s the version of AR who wanted the second contract more than the banner.