The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship on Sunday night. During the postgame celebrations, Anthony Davis was asked about the status of his looming free agency after his extremely successful inaugural campaign with the organization.
“I have no idea,” Davis said of his future. “I don’t know.”
That certainly isn’t what Lakers fans were hoping to hear on the heels of their first championship in a decade.
“I had a great time in L.A. this first year,” he added.
“This has been nothing but joy, nothing but amazement. Over the next couple of months, we’ll figure it out. I mean, I’m not 100 percent sure, but that’s why my agent [Rich Paul] is who he is, and we’ll discuss it and figure it out.”
This past January, Davis turned down a four-year, $146 million max extension from LA. The move was expected, as this offseason he will be eligible to sign a five-year deal worth roughly $200 million.
That said, some fans are still understandably a bit on edge regarding potentially losing the Lakers’ cornerstone young talent.
LeBron James was the NBA Finals MVP this past season and the most important part of the team’s title run, but he is 35 years old. The end of his career is rapidly approaching, whereas Davis is still only 27. He is the future.
In all likelihood, Davis’ trepidation is probably just a formality. He is almost certainly going to opt out of his $28.8 million contract for 2020-21, which will make him eligible to get just under $33 million next season if the salary cap stays at $109.1 million
It remains to be seen what impact dwindling TV ratings and the pandemic will have on next season’s salary cap, but for now budget experts can only work with the projections they have.
Davis scored 19 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in the Lakers’ title-clinching Game 6 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday night.
His production and intense defense throughout the entire season earned him first-team All-NBA and All-Defensive honors, and made him the second highest vote getter for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Gotta love Rajon Rondo. https://t.co/8Y42wsYeS1
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 12, 2020
When the Lakers traded away Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and three first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Davis, there was a lot of chatter regarding whether they overpaid. Some suggested that they had mortgaged the future for an uncertain present.
Clearly those concerns were misguided. Even if Davis leaves town tomorrow, the championship he brought to LA justifies the bet that was placed on him.
But it goes without saying the Lakers want him to stay.
In case you’re wondering why Bronny is trending. https://t.co/RHyy4cNDpU
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 12, 2020
More likely than not, once the championship celebrations end, Davis will sit down with Paul and discuss his options. He will either opt to take the five-year max contract starting at 30% of the cap that he will be eligible for as an eight-year veteran, or he will take a shorter deal to get him to his 10-year mark, at which point he will be eligible for a five-year deal starting at 35% of the cap.
The scenario with the highest probability of becoming reality is still Davis remaining with the Lakers. However, nothing is ever certain until it’s official, so Lakers Nation will have to sweat it out for just a little while longer until Davis signs on the dotted line.
Related: Lakers Fans Riot In LA Streets After Championship Win (Video)
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
