Report: Lakers were not going to extend Anthony Davis

Jesse Cinquini
4 Min Read
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers traded one of the better big men in the NBA in Anthony Davis on Saturday night. There are plenty of Lakers fans celebrating the trade for Luka Doncic — and rightfully so considering the Slovenian’s talent level.

However, Davis was arguably the glue that held the Lakers together on both ends of the floor through the team’s first 40-plus games of the 2024-25 regular season. He ranked tops on Los Angeles in points, rebounds and blocked shots per contest before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

But despite Davis’ impressive quality of play with the Lakers in his sixth season with the team, Los Angeles reportedly was not going to reward Davis with a lucrative extension when he became eligible for one.

“Davis is under contract until 2028, with a player option for the 2027-28 season, but he’s extension-eligible after next year,” Vincent Goodwill wrote. “And even though he’s been as healthy and as productive on both ends of the floor since his first year in Los Angeles — and a prime candidate for Defensive Player of the Year the last two seasons — the Lakers were not going to extend his contract. He’ll be 36 entering the 2029-30 season.”

Davis is set to make around $54 million in the 2025-26 campaign and more than $58 million in the 2026-27 season. Then, his player option for the 2027-28 season will be for nearly $63 million should he decide to accept it.

Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison chalked up the team’s decision to trade Doncic to wanting to improve on the defensive end, and adding Davis certainly makes Dallas a better defensive squad on paper. With his ability to guard the rim and come up with steals, Davis has long been one of the top defensive players in the league.

A double-big lineup of Davis and Dereck Lively II would make for quite the formidable defensive duo in the frontcourt as well. Considering Lively also has a real knack for sending shots away like Davis does, opponents are going to have their work cut out for them in terms of scoring on Dallas in the painted area with those two on the floor.

It’s interesting that Davis and Kyrie Irving are now teammates after there were rumors surrounding the idea of them teaming up on the Boston Celtics several years ago. That plan fell through though after Irving endured a rollercoaster of a 2018-19 campaign with the Celtics and signed with the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019.

Davis is dealing with an abdomen injury, so when exactly he will make his Mavericks debut isn’t known at this juncture. However, the Lakers are taking on the Mavericks on Feb. 25, and fans of the storied franchise should make sure to have that date marked on their calendars.

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Jesse is a sports journalist with extensive experience covering the NBA. He has worked as a staff writer covering the Lakers’ dreaded rivals, the Boston Celtics, for SB Nation. He has also covered the New York Knicks for The Knicks Wall.