NBA Rumors- Anthony Davis is expected to sign massive extension with the LA Lakers
After four seasons in LA, Lakers star big man Anthony Davis’ contract is approaching its conclusion. Davis is set to make $40.6 million next season. However, he then has a $43.2 million player option for the 2024-25 season that he could opt out of to become a free agent next summer.
Previous reports have suggested that LA has been reluctant to offer the big man a contract extension. However, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Davis and LA could agree to terms on an extension before the start of next season.
During a recent appearance on “The Lowe Post” podcast, McMenamin first spoke about Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka’s appreciation for Davis:
“Anthony Davis, in Rob’s estimation, is someone that has represented the Lakers really well, citing how he played through his foot injury last year as a major reason why they won a championship in 2020, and he wants to continue to have Anthony Davis as a Laker,” McMenamin said.
McMenamin then said that he expects Davis and the Lakers to work out an extension. According to McMenamin, it’s just a matter of how long and how lucrative the extension will be. He added that at the very least, LA could try to extend Davis to use him as a trade chip:
“I am not too concerned about how this thing plays out, whether the max amount of years or max amount of dollars are reached, that remains to be seen, and that will be figured out between Rich Paul and Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss,” McMenamin said.
“But where things stand right now, I expect some sort of an agreement to be reached. A lot of it is one, recognizing that Anthony Davis as a trade chip, there’s no way to replicate the value of what he brings to the court combined with LeBron James when he’s healthy, you just won’t. It’s absolutely impossible.”
Finally, McMenamin said that since LA’s other star, LeBron James, is turning 39 years old next season, the team has more incentive to extend Davis. This is because the Lakers need to maximize the last productive years of James’ career and keep the star forward happy. McMenamin added that all of this leads him to believe that Davis will sign an extension before the start of training camp:
“You also recognize that LeBron turning 39 years old and entering Year 21 has a limited window, so then to try to coalesce with a new group if you were to find this beautiful trade for Anthony Davis, that’s follied, you could be wasting what’s left of LeBron,” McMenamin said.
“Then beyond that, listen, we know the business of this league. If there’s no extension offered, what do you do? You apply pressure the other way and say I want out. So I’m fairly confident that Anthony Davis will come into training camp with an extended deal.”
How did Anthony Davis fare during the 2022-23 NBA season?
Anthony Davis was once again limited by injuries this past season. However, when he was healthy, he was still one of the best two-way stars in the NBA.
Davis averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks per game on 56.3% shooting over 56 regular season games.
He then averaged 22.6 ppg, 14.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg and 3.1 bpg on 52.0% shooting over 16 playoff games.
Davis showed moments of being unengaged and passive offensively, but when he was fully focused, he proved to be a dominant force on both ends of the court. His defensive versatility, elite rim protection, dominant post play, and floor-spacing ability make it extremely challenging for the Lakers to find a replacement.
Therefore, it seems highly likely, as mentioned by Dave McMenamin, that Davis will stay with the Lakers for the long term.
Also read: James Worthy believes LeBron James' 'overall greatness' deserves 2 statues for 2 different teams: "Breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record in Los Angeles"