Lakers star center Anthony Davis‘ new three-year maximum extension, projected to be worth $186MM, effectively makes him the full-fledged face of the team, opines Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times.
The 6’10” big man is now under team control until the 2027/28 season, when he will turn 35. As Plaschke notes, Davis has already had major injury problems during three of his four seasons with L.A.
After he proved to be the club’s most essential player in leading the Lakers back to the Western Conference Finals this spring, Davis earned the vote of confidence, in Plaschke’s view. That said, Los Angeles will now rise and fall with Davis. Though his offense can be somewhat inconsistent, he remains one of the league’s best defenders. When healthy, he has helped L.A. reach two Western Conference Finals and win one title.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- The Davis signing seems to indicate that the Lakers hope to retain 38-year-old All-Star forward LeBron James even beyond his current contract, which takes him through the 2024/25 season, per Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. James has a player option for the last year of that deal, his age-40 season. “Nothing happens in a vacuum in all this,” a Western Conference executive told Deveney. “You sign AD to this deal, there is the Klutch connection there, and LeBron has a certain level of responsibility for what Davis does with the Lakers. So of course, there is communication there.” Deveney notes that James is widely anticipated to remain a Laker for the rest of his playing career.
- Following a two-season stint with the Kings‘ NBAGL affiliate in Stockton, Jimmy Alapag has been promoted to a player development coaching gig with Sacramento and will join the coaching staff of reigning Coach of the Year Mike Brown, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Alapag, who was an 11-time All-Star while playing for the Philippine Basketball Association, initially coached in that league before joining the Kings’ Summer League bench in 2019.
- In case you missed it, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has suggested that Golden State is amenable to four-time champ Andre Iguodala playing for a 20th season – and a ninth with the Warriors – but the club is not counting on his return like it did last summer. Iguodala, 39, only appeared in eight contests last year due to injuries. He has yet to officially retire.