- Danny Leroux of The Athletic unpacks some core offseason priorities for the 2020 NBA champion Lakers, including locking up Anthony Davis to a longer-term contract (he has a player option on the final year of his current deal), re-signing unrestricted free agent starter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and considering cost-effective free agent ball-handler, wing shooter and center additions.
Veteran center Dwight Howard will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and he and the Lakers have mutual interest in working out a new contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
However, Los Angeles won’t be the only team looking to sign Howard. Sources tell Charania that the Warriors are among the potential contenders expected to have interest in the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
After missing nearly the entire 2018/19 season for health reasons, Howard bounced back in a big way in ’19/20, appearing in 69 regular season games and another 18 postseason contests for the Lakers.
The 34-year-old willingly took on a reduced role, playing a career-low 18.9 MPG. However, he made a major impact in that role, with 7.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.1 BPG, and a .729 FG%. Howard also flashed his old DPOY form in certain matchups, agitating Nikola Jokic during the Western Conference Finals.
As he enters his age-35 season, Howard won’t be in line for a big-money multiyear deal, but he could receive offers that exceed the minimum salary he earned in 2019/20. The Warriors will have the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth approximately $5.72MM) available and may decide to use some or all of that exception to make Howard an offer.
Golden State has some options at center, including Marquese Chriss, Kevon Looney, and Draymond Green, but may be seeking a more physical big man to share minutes at the five. Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area argued last week that Howard would be an ideal fit, suggesting he could be a lob threat on offense and would provide the same sort of physicality that veteran Warriors centers like Andrew Bogut and Zaza Pachulia did in previous years.
The Lakers hold Non-Bird rights on Howard, so if they want to offer him more than the minimum, they can go up to about $3.08MM using the Non-Bird exception. A more lucrative offer would mean dipping into their mid-level or bi-annual exception.
Veteran swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to be among the Lakers turning down a player option for the 2020/21 season, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Earlier reports indicated that Rajon Rondo is likely to opt out and that Anthony Davis plans to do the same.
The second-year option on Caldwell-Pope’s for next season is worth approximately $8.54MM, but there’s a perception that he has outperformed that figure and could be in line for a raise and/or a longer deal after essentially acting as the Lakers’ third option during the team’s NBA Finals victory.
Having put up relatively modest numbers (9.3 PPG on .467/.385/.775 shooting) during 69 regular season games (25.5 MPG), Caldwell-Pope made some big shots in the playoffs, knocking down 42.1% of his three-point attempts in the first three rounds and then averaging 12.8 PPG in the Finals, the third-highest scoring average on the team behind LeBron James and Davis. He also provided strong perimeter defense.
Caldwell-Pope has spent the last three seasons with the Lakers and the two sides have “significant mutual interest” in reaching a new agreement, per Charania. Los Angeles holds KCP’s Bird rights, giving the club plenty of flexibility to sign him to a new contract worth essentially any value up to the max.
The 27-year-old is expected to receive interest from a handful of external suitors, according to Charania, who identifies the Hawks as one team that could “emerge with interest.”
[RELATED: NBA Player Option Decisions For 2020/21]
Besides Caldwell-Pope, Rondo, and Davis, the Lakers with player options for 2020/21 include Avery Bradley and JaVale McGee. They’re also candidates to opt out, though their intentions remain unclear for now.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Anthony Davis isn’t expected to exercise his $28.75MM player option for the 2020/21 season, but there’s also no expectation that he’ll leave Los Angeles, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that the star big man intends to opt out and then re-sign with the Lakers.
As Charania details, the plan is for Davis and agent Rich Paul to hold meetings in the coming weeks leading up to free agency to discuss the situation and determine the contract length and structure that is “most sensible” for the 27-year-old.
The Lakers are expected to offer Davis whatever form of max contract he wants, whether it’s for one year or five, so it will be up to AD and Paul to decide the best route for the seven-time All-Star.
There are several factors to consider, including the state of the NBA’s salary cap for the next couple seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, Davis will be eligible for a more lucrative “maximum” salary in 2022, when he’ll have 10 years of NBA experience and will be eligible for a starting salary worth 35% of the cap instead of 30%.
Assuming the cap doesn’t increase for the 2020/21 season, Davis would be in line for a max salary of $32,472,000 next season, which is why he’ll turn down his $28,751,774 option. If he tacks on extra years to his new deal, he can receive 8% annual raises, regardless of future salary cap increases. With so much uncertainty surrounding the cap, a multiyear deal that locks in those raises could end up being more player-friendly.
If Davis signs a two-year deal with a second-year player option or a three-year deal with a third-year player option, he’d be in a position to sign a new long-term contract in 2022. The hope would be that the NBA has mostly recovered from the impact of the coronavirus by that point and that the cap would be on the rise again. Even if it the cap hasn’t significantly increased by then though, it’d be a good time for Davis to sign a new contract that would start at 35% of the cap.
Davis, who was sent from New Orleans to Los Angeles last summer in a blockbuster trade, had a monster first year with the Lakers, averaging 26.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 2.3 BPG in 62 regular season games (34.4 MPG).
He finished sixth in MVP voting and second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, helping lead the club to the West’s No. 1 seed. He followed up a dominant regular season by recording 27.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.4 BPG in 21 postseason contests en route to the first title of his career.
Given the success he enjoyed as a Laker, there has never been any real doubt that Davis would re-up with the franchise, even if he was noncommittal when asked about it earlier this week following the team’s Game 6 win.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo is likely to decline his $2.69MM player option for the 2020/21 season, a source familiar with the situation tells Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Chris Sheridan of BasketballNews.com first reported that Rondo is expected to opt out of his contract.
The deadlines for ’20/21 player option decisions remain up in the air, but will likely fall sometime in late November, so Rondo still has plenty of time to reverse course and opt in. However, it makes sense that he’d seek a new deal, even if he intends to remain in Los Angeles.
Rondo’s current two-year contract is worth the veteran’s minimum and he arguably outperformed it by playing a key role in the Lakers’ run to this year’s championship.
After returning from a broken thumb during the second round vs. Houston, the veteran guard averaged 8.9 PPG, 6.6 APG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.4 SPG in 16 games (24.7 MPG) off the bench. He even provided some reliable outside shooting, knocking down 40.0% of 3.1 three-point attempts per game during the postseason.
Assuming the salary cap remains at the same level in 2020/21 as in ’19/20, Rondo’s minimum salary would be about $2.56MM, so if he has to settle for another minimum deal, he’d miss out on the 5% raise that his option would have afforded him. But that difference is minimal and the opportunity for a more lucrative offer makes declining the option worth the risk.
The Lakers will hold Rondo’s Early Bird rights, giving the team the ability to offer him a starting salary worth up to approximately $10MM (105% of the league-average salary in the previous season). However, contracts signed using the Early Bird exception must run for at least two years, without a second-year option. Los Angeles could potentially get around that rule by not fully guaranteeing the second year of an offer to Rondo.
Another potential path for the Lakers would be to re-sign Rondo using the Non-Bird exception. That would allow for a one-year deal (with or without a second-year option) and would give the 34-year-old veto rights on any trade, though his salary would be limited to about $3.08MM (120% of the minimum).
The Lakers will also have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available, but may prefer to use those exceptions to bring in outside help or to re-sign Non-Bird free agents Markieff Morris and/or Dwight Howard.
Of course, rival suitors could make life difficult for the Lakers by pursuing Rondo with mid-level type offers, but I imagine that – after winning a title with the team – the point guard’s first choice will be to stick with L.A.
Rondo is one of five Lakers with player options for the 2020/21 season. Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley, and JaVale McGee are all candidates to opt out in search of new deals as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Having opted out of the NBA’s summer restart, veteran guard Avery Bradley wasn’t on the Lakers‘ active roster when they secured the 17th title in franchise history in Orlando earlier this week. However, Bradley was extremely invested in his team’s playoff run and celebrated the championship at his home in Texas, according to Dave McMenamin and Malika Andrews of ESPN.
“I watched every single game,” Bradley said. “I am still a Laker.”
Bradley has a player option worth $5MM+ for 2020/21, and despite being separated from his teammates for the past several months, he doesn’t sound like someone who’s preparing to move on from the franchise this fall. As McMenamin and Andrews detail, Bradley received FaceTime calls during Sunday’s celebration from multiple members of the Lakers, including general manager Rob Pelinka, who has said the guard will get a championship ring.
“He was just letting me know I am a part of it,” Bradley said. “It has been a long season — and an amazing one. And we’ve been through a lot. It was just an amazing win. You could see it on his face.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (video link) got an exclusive sitdown with LeBron James and Anthony Davis following Sunday’s win and asked the two superstars about their respective futures. However, when pressed about his free agency, Davis offered no more specifics to Nichols than he did to the rest of the media. “We’ll see,” Davis said. With a laugh, James interjected, “Nobody’s talking about that right now.”
- As part of his preview of the Lakers’ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) explores Davis’ impeding free agency and his potential contract scenarios. Marks also takes a look at the possibility of an extension for James and evaluates where things stand for the rest of the roster.
- Marks and John Hollinger of The Athletic both believe that a three-year maximum-salary contract with an opt-out after year two might be the most logical option for Davis and the Lakers this fall. That would put Davis in position to earn a higher max (35% of the cap instead of 30%) when he gains 10 years of NBA experience in 2022. It would also ensure he receives an 8% raise in 2021. If he signs one-year contracts for the next two years, he wouldn’t be assured of that raise, since there’s no guarantee the cap (and the maximum salary) will increase in 2021/22.
- Earlier this afternoon, we passed along the early odds for the Western Conference in 2020/21. The Lakers, at +275, are considered the favorites for now.
After winning the NBA Finals in 2020, the Lakers are currently listed by sportsbooks as the odds-on frontrunners to do so again in 2021.
Over at BetOnline.ag, oddsmakers have listed the Lakers as +275 favorites to come out of the Western Conference in 2020/21. That means if you place a $100 bet on the Lakers and they win the West next season, you’ll win $275.
While the Lakers are the current favorites, BetOnline.ag places two other Western Conference teams in roughly the same tier. The Clippers (+375) have the second-best odds to win the conference, while the Warriors (+400) have the third-best odds.
Golden State’s placement is an interesting one. We can safely assume that the Warriors will be much improved in 2020/21 with a healthy Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson back in their lineup, and they have the resources necessary to make further roster upgrades. Still, the club is coming off a dismal 15-50 season that saw them finish in last place in the NBA. Winning the West in 2021 would represent a historic turnaround.
The rest of the odds to win the West next year are as follows, per BetOnline.ag:
- Nuggets: +1200
- Rockets: +1200
- Mavericks: +1400
- Trail Blazers: +1800
- Jazz: +2500
- Pelicans: +2500
- Suns: +3300
- Thunder: +4000
- Grizzlies: +5000
- Kings: +12500
- Spurs: +12500
- Timberwolves: +12500
As we acknowledged on Tuesday when we asked you for your thoughts on the Eastern Conference odds for 2020/21, it’s way too early to confidently predict next year’s conference champions. Rosters will undergo significant changes in the coming months in the draft and free agency, and on the trade market.
Still, the anticipated offseason directions for certain teams is baked into BetOnline’s odds. The Thunder would certainly be higher on the above list if the possibility of a rebuild wasn’t hanging over the franchise.
So, with the caveat that plenty could change in the coming months to alter the outlook of the West for the 2020/21 season, we want to get your thoughts on the early projections from oddsmakers.
Should the Lakers be considered the favorites to come out of the West again in 2021? Are the Warriors or another team being overvalued? Are there other clubs being undervalued? Which team do you like to come out of the West next season? And which club do you view as the best value pick based on the odds listed above?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your early forecast for the Western Conference in 2020/21!
LeBron James added a few more major achievements to his résumé on Sunday, including his fourth NBA championship and his fourth Finals MVP award. However, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, the Lakers’ playoff run and championship was also a major boon for Anthony Davis‘ reputation.
Within his article, Slater wonders how many players in the NBA a team would rather have on its roster over the next five seasons than Davis. In the wake of his extremely impressive postseason performance, Davis deserves to be mentioned in the NBA’s top tier of current stars, alongside the likes of James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Slater, who adds that AD has a realistic chance to make a run at the title of world’s best player in the coming years.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Will James’ fourth title be his last? He certainly sounds prepared to go after his fifth, telling reporters after Sunday’s win that he’s still “got a lot of years left,” as ESPN relays (via Twitter).
- An in-depth Ramona Shelburne piece at ESPN.com about Jeanie Buss‘ role in the latest Lakers title includes the following quote from an unnamed senior Lakers executive, which appears to be a shot directed at the Clippers: “While some of our so-called rivals spent literally hundreds of millions of dollars trying to win media cycles, we kept our heads down and focused on basketball — because the only thing we’ve ever cared about winning is championships.”
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today outlines the long road the Lakers took to get to where they are today, starting with their 21-win and 17-win seasons from 2014-16.
- In his press conference following the Lakers’ win on Sunday, general manager Rob Pelinka recalled the faith that Kobe Bryant expressed in him when he was first hired by the franchise (link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). “He said, ‘I’ll give you two, three years, you’ll fix this. You’ll get the Lakers back on top.'” Pelinka said of the late Bryant, whom he represented for two decades as an agent. “I guess you were right, man. You give me the energy to do it.”
- Earlier today, we passed along Anthony Davis‘ comments on his contract situation.
Superstar big man Anthony Davis holds a $28.75MM player option for the 2020/21 season, but the expectation is that he’ll turn down that option in order to sign a new contract with the Lakers. Asked after Sunday’s win about his potential free agency, Davis was noncommittal, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.
“I have no idea,” Davis said. “I don’t know.”
Asked to clarify his initial comment, Davis continued: “I had a great time in L.A. this first 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% sure, but that’s why my agent (Rich Paul) is who he is, and we’ll discuss it and figure it out.”
Davis faced a significant backlash during the 2018/19 season when he publicly requested a trade out of New Orleans and made it clear that the Lakers were his preferred landing spot. After a few uncomfortable months following his initial request, he got the trade he wanted, and his first season in L.A. played out about as well as he could have hoped.
Davis averaged 26.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, and 2.3 BPG in 62 regular season games (34.4 MPG) for the Lakers, finishing sixth in MVP voting and second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He followed that up by recording 27.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.4 BPG in 21 postseason contests en route to the first title of his career.
“It’s just part of your legacy, to say you’re a champion,” the 27-year-old said on Sunday, per Youngmisuk. “Not everybody can say that. I wanted to do the same thing in New Orleans. … When I got traded, that’s all I wanted was to be a champion. To be able to compete, be able to win. I was able to do that my first year with the Lakers.”
It may seem unusual in the wake of such a successful year that Davis wouldn’t express a desire to return to the Lakers in stronger terms. Still, it would be shocking if he seriously considers signing with another club once he becomes a free agent. Any uncertainty he conveyed on Sunday about his situation likely applies to the length and structure of his next contract rather than his destination.
The salary cap for the 2020/21 season remains up in the air, but the cap would have to dip substantially to make it worthwhile for Davis to consider opting in for $28.75MM. If the cap remains at the same level as it did in ’19/20, AD’s maximum salary on a new contract would be about $32.74MM.
While the Lakers would certainly be willing to put a five-year, maximum-salary offer on the table for Davis this fall, it might make more sense for him to accept a shorter-term deal, especially with the NBA’s cap situation in flux. In 2022, he’d be able to receive a starting salary worth 35% of the cap, rather than the 30% he can get now, so waiting until then to sign a long-term contract would allow him to maximize his future earnings.
Superstar forward LeBron James has been named the Most Valuable Player of the 2020 NBA Finals, as the Lakers clinched the 17th title in franchise history on Sunday night with a 106-93 win over Miami in Game 6.
It’s the fourth championship and the fourth Finals MVP award for James, who previously earned the honor in 2012 and 2013 with the Heat, and again in 2016 with the Cavaliers.
Entering this series, LeBron had been one of five players in NBA history to earn at least three Finals MVP awards. Now he’s one of just two players to earn that honor four or more times — Michael Jordan won the award six times. James is also the first player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP with three separate teams.
While Anthony Davis had a monster series for the Lakers, anchoring the defense and averaging 25.0 PPG, James led the club in points, rebounds, and assists, making him the obvious choice for the MVP award. He received all 11 votes from the media panel responsible for naming the winner.
In six games against the Heat, LeBron averaged 29.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 8.5 APG while shooting 59.1% from the floor and 41.7% from beyond the arc. The 35-year-old capped off an impressive playoff run with his 28th career postseason triple-double (28 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) on Sunday, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).
The Lakers’ title represents the first career championship for a number of notable veterans on the roster, including Davis, Dwight Howard, Jared Dudley, and Markieff Morris. It’s also the first championship for veteran head coach Frank Vogel in his first year with the organization. Meanwhile, Danny Green is the only player on the Lakers to hold an active streak of two consecutive titles, having also won a year ago with the Raptors.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.