WILL LAKERS’ DAVIS OPT OUT?
It seems likely he will and then sign 2-year deal with player option
Anthony Davis sat for his postgame interview Sunday with a pair of goggles he had worn from a champagne-filled Lakers locker room cocked on his head when the inevitable question about his future with the team was raised.
When asked what this offseason might bring for him going forward, Davis quickly responded with:
“I don’t know.”
He smiled and shook his head several times before the second part of the two-part question came, about what the next four or five years of his career might look like now that he has won his first NBA championship.
Davis can become a free agent if he opts out of his contract for next season at $28.8 million.
Most NBA executives who were not authorized to speak publicly on the Davis situation believe the forward’s best course is to opt out this year and sign a two-year deal with a player option for the 2021-22 season.
If he did that, Davis would become a free agent the same time as LeBron James, following the 2021-22 season.
James will earn $39 million next season and could earn $41 million in 2021-22 — although he does have a player option for that final season. He also could be eligible for a contract extension once the 2020-21 season starts, but James is not expected to sign one.
Davis could sign a five-year extension if he opts out that could start at about $40 million per season, but not knowing what the salary cap will be set at yet probably means he would not sign a long-term deal.
“Um, the first question, I have no idea,” Davis said about possibly becoming a free agent this different-looking offseason because of the shortened COVID-19 pandemic season, which concluded with the Lakers defeating the Miami Heat in six games in the NBA Finals.
“I don’t know. The second part. Um, it’s just part of your legacy. To say you’re a champion, not everybody can say that. The next four or five years, you just have to get better and better, keep improving my game and hopefully I can have this feeling again.
“I had a great time in L.A. this year. 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 is who he is, and we’ll discuss it and figure it out.”
Dwight Howard, who was signed as a free agent when DeMarcus Cousins was injured, had a strong season for the Lakers, but he also will become a free agent.
The same is true of Markieff Morris, who signed with the Lakers during the season after getting a buy-out from the Detroit Pistons.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($8.4 million), Avery Bradley ($5.0 million), JaVale McGee ($4.2 million) and Rajon Rondo (2.6 million) all can opt out of their contracts.
Jared Dudley, JR Smith and Dion Waiters are free agents.
The Lakers can also look to improve their team through the draft by using their firstround pick. The NBA Draft is expected to be Nov. 18.
They will also have the midlevel exception of about $9.2 million they can use to sign one or more players, the biannual exception of about $3.6 million and the veteran’s minimum salary that’s based on years of service.
So Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, and Kurt Rambis, the team’s senior basketball adviser, have some work to do to help L.A. push forward for back-to-back championships.