In The Least Surprising News Of All Time, Anthony Davis Is Officially Staying With The Lakers
Uhhhhhhhhhhh ya think? You don't force your way to the Lakers, win a goddamn title in your first year with LeBron, see that he has a whole lot more left in the tank and then leave to go somewhere else in free agency. Did anyone really think that a Klutch client was going to do that to LeBron? It's why this quote was so goddamn funny
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He's the next superstar that is going to carry the Lakers franchise in a post LeBron world. He's the main attraction that will bring in their next blue chip player because that's what the Lakers do. They get the guys. The scary thing is AD is only 27 years old. He's going to get even better! Imagine that, a player who just did this
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is going to get even better. Holy christ.
I'll be interested to see just what type of extension AD signs though. Here is how Shams broke down his options
• Two years, $68,103,360: One-plus-one, player option in year two.
• Three years, $106,084,080: Two-plus-one, player option in year three. This deal would bring Davis to 10 years of service before 2022 free agency and thus make him eligible for the 35 percent max contract. Using a $125 million cap projection in 2022, Davis’ max deal would be worth $253.75 million over five years, or $196 million over four years.
• Four years, $146,684,160: Three-plus-one, player option in year four. Using a potential $131.25 million cap in 2023, Davis would be in line for a $266.4 million max over five years or $205.8 million over four years.
I would imagine he aligns with LeBron, who probably has at least 3 years left as a Laker. Maybe he does the 2+1 option just to be safe in the event LeBron does something weird like actually look human in his late 30s. I find it hard to imagine AD would want to leave LA after LeBron is gone because they'll just get another star, but you never know. I just think between LeBron/Durant we're seeing more and more that guys are preferring the shorter extensions with the player option. It's all about having leverage and I'm pretty sure AD knows that. He's learning from the best in the business.
So for Lakers fans, the good times just keep rolling. Still high as fuck coming off those championship fumes, now a guy that arguably could have won the Finals MVP is going to be staying around for the foreseeable future.
Awesome!
P.S.
In my 2k20 Dynasty (or whatever it's called now) AD opted out and actually went to the Knicks on a 4 year max deal. I'm not kidding. Given how 2K never lies I had a sliver of hope that would actually happen. Sigh.