There have been reports lately that the Los Angeles Lakers have been reluctant to offer Anthony Davis a contract extension anytime soon. However, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said on “The Lowe Post” podcast that he expects the two sides to agree to an extension before training camp starts at the end of this summer.
“Anthony Davis in Rob [Pelinka’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,” said McMenamin (h/t Lakers Nation). “… I am not too concerned about how this thing plays out, whether it’s 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.
“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.
“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 and 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.”
Davis is going into his fifth season with Los Angeles, and it’s no coincidence it went from a lottery team to a championship-winning team right away upon his arrival. He has given it an outstanding inside presence on both ends of the floor. He’s also an excellent rebounder and solid midrange shooter, among other things.
This past season, he averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game, and he shot a red-hot 56.3 percent from the field. He improved his production significantly compared to that of his previous two years, yet his critics continue to attack him for being injury-prone.
Davis did miss about five weeks at midseason with a stress injury in his right foot, but afterward, he remained healthy for the rest of the year, and his ferocious defense and rebounding in the playoffs helped his team reach the Western Conference Finals.
He has two years left on his current contract, but the second year of that deal is a player option, and the Lakers seem determined to maximize the limited championship window he and James have.
At age 30, Davis could have several great years left, which would allow L.A. to quickly retool around him should James leave or greatly decline very soon.
As of now, the Lakers are considered to be contenders for the 2023-24 NBA championship, and given how diligent James is about keeping his body right, perhaps their championship window will end up being longer than anyone realistically anticipates right now. But for that to happen, Davis will need to sign a contract extension sooner than later to keep him in the Purple and Gold for more than another season or two.
