The Los Angeles Lakers have had a successful offseason so far in which they stuck to their plan going into the summer, retaining their core and making solid depth additions. With most of that now done, attention now turns to locking down superstar big man Anthony Davis.
Davis is eligible for a contract extension with the Lakers starting on Aug. 4. He has two years left on his current deal, but there is an early termination option on that contract after this season, meaning Davis could become an unrestricted free agent next summer. But the Lakers don’t plan on letting that happen.
According to Dan Woike of the L.A. Times, the Lakers are prepared to offer a full three-year max extension to Davis despite the ongoing concerns about his health:
According to people with knowledge of the situation, there’s strong interest from the Lakers in getting an extension done with the 30-year-old big man. Indications are that the team is prepared to make a full three-year offer despite concerns about Davis’ durability.
This should come as no surprise as even though Davis has his durability concerns, he showed last season that he is still amongst the NBA’s elite when healthy. He played through some ailments down the stretch of last year and was arguably the biggest reason why the Lakers made a run to the Western Conference Finals.
A full max extension for Davis would give him another $170 million over three years, keeping him with the Lakers through 2028. LeBron James has already mentioned retirement with his career obviously winding down, and the Lakers are never a franchise that wants to go through a full rebuild. In keeping Davis locked in, it gives them a superstar caliber player to pair with any future star the team might pursue.
Of course there are still injury concerns regarding Davis as well as some inconsistent offensive showings. But he showed in the playoffs last year that there is no defensive force like him in the NBA and the Lakers will surely look to keep him in purple and gold for the foreseeable future.
Lakers hopeful Jaxson Hayes plays ‘prominent role’ next to Anthony Davis
One way the Lakers hope to keep Davis a bit more healthy is by lessening the physical toll he takes on a daily basis by pairing him with another big. The team brought in Jaxson Hayes this offseason and apparently there is hope that he could start next to Davis this season.
Recent reports state that the Lakers are hopeful Hayes can play ‘prominent role’ starting next to Davis this season. Concerns about the rest of the starting lineup aside, this would certainly placate Davis’ wishes to not play center full-time.
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