NBA Notes: Lakers, free agency, Austin Reaves, Bucks, Las Vegas

Lakers

There are a few situations worth watching when NBA free agency starts this summer.

Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron took a look at 10 players who either will be or could be free agents, including four from the Lakers in Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart.

Reaves stands out. He has clearly outplayed his current contract and is in line for a sizable raise.

As Gozlan noted, it would not be surprising if another team explored a two- or three-year max-type offer to try to lure him away. Even so, the expectation is he remains in Los Angeles.

Bucks

Things feel heavy in Milwaukee right now.

Zach Harper of The Athletic ranked the Bucks No. 1 on his latest Misery Index, citing a massively disappointing season and a roster that lacks young building blocks. That’s not exactly an easy combination to navigate.

Namely, there are questions about where this is headed, both in the short term and beyond.

Expansion

As you know, the league could be taking a step forward on expansion — as he NBA’s board of governors is set to vote this week on whether to move ahead with exploring teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.

Las Vegas continues to generate support, though there are factors to consider, according to Mike Vorkunov, Jesse Granger, Vic Tafur, Sabreena Merchant and Oskar Garcia of The Athletic.

As Tafur pointed out, a team there may need to be competitive fairly quickly, noting the city “does not have a strong attention span.” It is, after all, Vegas, baby.