Anthony Davis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Anthony Davis Won’t Rush Into Next Deal With Lakers

November 20th, 2020 at 10:48am CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Davis will take his time working out a new contract with the Lakers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Davis is the top free agent on this year’s market, but that’s just a formality as he remains committed to staying with the team where he just won an NBA title. Davis’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, will reach out to Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka after free agency officially begins at 6pm ET, sources tell Wojnarowski, but Davis doesn’t plan to commit to a new deal until after Thanksgiving.

The 27-year-old has a number of options to consider as he plots his future in Los Angeles. He could accept a three-year, $106MM offer with a player option for 2022/23 that would match up with the rest of LeBron James‘ contract. He could also take $68MM over two years with an option after next season or a longer deal such as $146.7MM for four years or $189MM for five.

Paul also represents James and it wasn’t unusual for contract negotiations to stretch out for several weeks when LeBron was in Cleveland, Wojnarowski adds.

Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Opting Out

November 16th, 2020 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Lakers veterans Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Rajon Rondo are officially opting out of their contracts in order to reach free agency, according to reports from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Shams Charania of The Athletic, and Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (all Twitter links).

Those decisions had been considered formalities at this point, as reports a month ago indicated that Davis, Caldwell-Pope, and Rondo all planned to turn down their player options for 2020/21. Those plans have now been confirmed.

Davis will technically be the No. 1 free agent on the open market this fall, but he’s not expected to consider any pitches from rival teams. The plan is to re-sign with the Lakers for the maximum salary ($32.74MM), which is higher than his option salary ($28.75MM) would have been.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers intend to present several different contract options to Davis and agent Rich Paul and will work with him on the deal that makes him feel most comfortable. A five-year contract is considered unlikely — the two sides are more likely to agree to a two- or three-year deal that features a player option in its final season.

Rondo and Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, are expected to receive plenty of interest from rival suitors. Turner cites the Clippers and Hawks as two clubs expected to pursue Rondo, whom the Lakers are reportedly bracing to lose.

As for Caldwell-Pope, teams are under the impression that he’s open to offers, and he’s expected to have several suitors, according to Charania, who previously identified Atlanta as one team likely to “emerge with interest.” The Lakers and KCP are believed to have strong mutual interest — after having agreed to trade Danny Green, the Lakers will likely make it a priority to re-sign their free agent three-and-D wing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Western Notes: Davis, Clarkson, Temple, Lee, Mavs’ Drafts

October 26th, 2020 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka hopes to not only retain Anthony Davis for the long haul but also pair him with a young superstar in those future years, he told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on a recent podcast (hat tip to Donny McHenry of LakersOutsiders.com). Davis is expected to re-sign — at least in the short term — with the Lakers, even if he declines his $28.75MM player option.

“We hope that we can have another championship run next year, for sure, and we’re going to work hard to try to keep the pieces around LeBron (James) and AD, build pieces around LeBron and AD to do that,” Pelinka said. “But also, with the future, again, if you study our cap (space) we have the flexibility to say, “Can we add another really, really talented young player to run it out with AD if he chooses to stay as a free agent for five, six, seven, eight years?””

We have more from around the Western Conference:

The Jazz need to re-sign free agent Jordan Clarkson and use their mid-level exception on a wing player that can defend quicker players, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News opines. Utah owns Clarkson’s Bird rights and needs his offensive punch, notes Todd, who also details why it would be a bad idea to trade for the Sixers’ Al Horford.
Garrett Temple, Courtney Lee and D.J. Augustin are some of the free agents the Pelicans might consider signing, according to William Guillory of The Athletic. Any of them could take a leadership and mentoring role as well as helping off the bench. Guillory also examines the glut of guards on the roster and predicts the players that will be lopped off.
The Mavericks’ draft picks this year could be their most valuable selections over the next five years, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas owns the No. 18 overall pick as well as the first pick of the second round (No. 31), courtesy of a 2016 three-team deal that involved the Warriors. The Mavericks don’t have first-rounders in two of the three ensuing drafts due to the Kristaps Porzingis trade with the Knicks.

Anthony Davis Plans To Opt Out, Re-Sign With Lakers

October 15th, 2020 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

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 Notes: Bradley, Davis, LeBron, Offseason

October 14th, 2020 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Lakers Notes: Davis, LeBron, Pelinka, More

October 12th, 2020 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Anthony Davis On Potential Free Agency: “We’ll Figure It Out”

October 12th, 2020 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Anthony Davis Won’t Be Disciplined By NBA, Listed As Probable For Game 6

October 11th, 2020 at 9:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA won’t take any action against Anthony Davis for an elbowing incident in Game 5, according to Clay Ferraro of Channel 10 in Miami. “We review every play in the games from all angles and there was nothing further to do with this,” the league said in a statement.

Davis appeared to swing his elbow at Jae Crowder in the third quarter of Friday’s game while both players were on the ground as Duncan Robinson sunk a 3-pointer. Ferraro’s report includes a video of the incident.

The Lakers star has been listed as probable for tonight’s Game 6, even though he was visibly slowed Friday by pain from a right heel contusion, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Davis still managed to play 42 minutes with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

“It happened in the last series against Denver,” Davis said. “I think it was Game 5, if I’m not mistaken. (Andre Iguodala) just re-aggravated it. Went out the end of the first (quarter) and it just kind of just wore off and got back to normal. Just kept moving around. Just trying not to sit down. Get that adrenaline going, and I was able to keep going and keep playing.”

Davis Says He’s ‘Fine’ For Game 6 On Sunday

October 10th, 2020 at 10:13am CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers big man Anthony Davis says he’ll play Game 6 in the Finals despite a nagging heel injury, according to Mark Medina of USA Today.

Davis limped off the court late in first quarter of the Heat’s 111-108 win on Friday and some feared he might have a serious injury. It turned to be an aggravation of a right heel contusion that he first suffered during the conference finals against Denver.

He played 42 minutes and racked up 28 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three blocks but was clearly hobbling as the game wore on.

“I’ll be fine Sunday,” Davis said.

Coach Frank Vogel isn’t ready to fully commit to Davis playing as the Lakers try to close out the Heat for the second time.

“He’s just battling through the heel,” Vogel said on his postgame press conference. “He was struggling to move a little bit but toughed it out. We’ll see how he feels (Saturday).”

Until the late going, Davis said the pain subsided and he was able to play effectively.

“It just wore off and got back to normal,” Davis said. “I kept moving around and tried not to sit down and get the adrenaline going. I was able to keep going and keep playing.”

The Heat have played most of the series without point guard Goran Dragic, who tore his left plantar fascia in Game 1.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Davis, Vogel

October 9th, 2020 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

More than a year after the first game of the NBA’s 2019 preseason tipped off, the ’19/20 campaign may finally come to an end tonight.

The Lakers hold a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals over the Heat and haven’t dropped more than one game in any of their three playoff series so far. If that trend holds, they’ll be crowned 2020 NBA champions before the end of the day.

As we wait to see if Los Angeles can finish off Miami tonight, here’s some Lakers-related reading:

LeBron James wasn’t immediately embraced by die-hard Lakers fans when he signed with the team in 2018, but he said on Thursday that he understands why it took them some time to warm to him. “They don’t care about your résumé at all until you become a Laker,” James said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Then you’ve got to do it as a Laker, and then they respect you. I’ve learned that.”
Ahead of his upcoming free agency, Anthony Davis referred to Lakers head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka on Thursday as a “great executive,” as Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register writes. Davis added that Pelinka’s seventh-place finish in Executive of the Year award voting puts him in good company. “That’s kind of been a thing this year with myself with Defensive Player of the Year, LeBron with MVP (he was runner-up), now Rob with Executive of the Year,” Davis said. “But if we’re able to win one more game, then no one cares about those other awards. We’ll all be champions.”
Revisiting Davis’ midseason trade request from 2019, Jordan Greer of Sporting News observes that the public nature of the demand earned AD a fine and created a messy situation in New Orleans for months, but ultimately got the star big man everything he wanted.
With Frank Vogel on the verge of his first NBA title, Mark Whicker of The Orange County Register takes a look back at Vogel’s long, winding coaching career, which essentially began when he served as a student manager on Rick Pitino‘s Kentucky squad in 1994/95. Vogel’s first NBA job was a video coordinator role for the Celtics under Pitino several years later.