With LeBron James aging and showing some signs of decline, the Los Angeles Lakers need Anthony Davis to step up and assume control over the team.
During the the 2022-23 season, the shift seemed to finally begin in earnest as the Lakers ran more of the offense through Davis. The superstar big man also looked more comfortable as the leader and was normally the difference between wins and losses, especially during their recent playoff run to the Western Conference Finals.
As things stand now, Davis is currently under contract for one more year with a player option for the 2024-25 season. On Aug. 4, he will be eligible to sign an extension up to three years and $167.6 million.
When discussing whether or not Los Angeles will extend Davis in the coming weeks, Jeanie Buss didn’t confirm anything though she emphasized that the organization is still prioritizing continuity on the roster, via Mark Medina of Sportskeeda:
“Rob said it best. Our intention is that we want to keep continuity with our team. I’ll leave it at that.”
It remains to be seen how much longer James will want to continue playing, especially considering he hinted at a possible retirement right after the Lakers’ postseason ended. With that in mind, Los Angeles should do everything they can to retain Davis if they’re trying to remain competitive in a post-James world.
Although injuries have become a reoccurring issue for Davis, he is still one of the best players in the NBA when healthy and showed that he can be the best player on a championship team. During each playoff series, Davis had multiple dominant performances that carried L.A. to victory and those kinds of players are incredibly rare.
Fans would do well to remember that Aug. 4 is simply the first day that an extension can be agreed upon, so panic shouldn’t set in if it doesn’t come to fruition right away. The big man has previously expressed how much he enjoys playing for the purple and gold, so the smart money would be signs a deal before the beginning of the 2023-24 season.
Anthony Davis progressing well through foot injury
Davis was forced to miss time during the 2022-23 campaign due to a stress reaction in his foot. While he was able to play through it, he was clearly hampered by the injury.
So far, though, it seems that both he and James are progressing well from their respective foot injuries and should be ready to go by training camp.
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