Lakers may REJECT All-star Anthony Davis’ $167 million contract extension, claims NBA insider

Anthony Davis might not be back with Lakers this summer due to his injury history


Lakers may REJECT All-star Anthony Davis’ $167 million contract extension, claims NBA insider

Injured Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis is set to rack up a three-year extension worth around $167 million with the Lakers this summer. The Los Angeles Lakers big man after following up on an injury-riddled season and a Playoff sweep at the hands of the Nuggets might not be back with the Lakers as speculated by experts around the league as the big man is a phenomenal talent on the court but cannot stay healthy. Anthony Davis hasn’t had any success staying healthy and playing on the court since his run with the Lakers in the 2020 NBA Bubble.

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According to a report from a Lakers insider, Dave McMenamin: “But I don’t think they’re [Lakers front office] going to be in a position to be interested in a long-term extension for him this summer.” No doubt the 8-time All-Star is a force when he is healthy as he is currently pouring in 25.9 ppg, 12.5 rpg and 2.0 bpg for the Lakers. The problem stems from his history of getting sidelined due to injuries in crucial parts of the season, this season he suited up for a total of 56 regular season games along with 17 in the postseason, a number that is too low for the best player on a team with Championship aspirations.

But another insider, Brian Windhorst has a very different report about the situation, where he said: “That’s a primary offseason thing for the Lakers. Get Anthony Davis locked down, past even when LeBron James is signed for.” This report is also cleared for validity as the Lakers might look to build around Davis in an attempt to still be in contention after LeBron’s retirement.

In another scenario where the front office wants to retain players like Rui Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Reaves and D’Angelo the organization might even have to resort to trading AD in the scenario where he declines a lower contract extension as the aforementioned players can command a huge chunk of the Laker’s salary cap.

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Related: Kyrie Irving to Lakers: Team insiders drop HUGE NEWS about superstar joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis for Trae Young or Kyrie Irving trade rumours

Trae Young (R- Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) and Kyrie Irving (R- Image via AP Photo/Hakim Wright Sr)
Trae Young (R- Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) and Kyrie Irving (R- Image via AP Photo/Hakim Wright Sr)

When LeBron James hinted at a possible retirement, the Lakers’ front office set off to capitalize on the small window of opportunity to win another title before James’ retirement.

The Front office of the Lakeshow is looking to shop for another superstar who can provide the Lakers with the much-needed scoring punch. Players like Kyrie Irving come to the minds of the public in this scenario but with Irving declining any rumours of a possible trade to the Lakers the organization might have to turn towards an unlikely candidate in Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.

The trade can be worked out if Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura are swapped for Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, and the Hawks forward D’Andre Hunter. This trade might have to come off at the expense of their rising star in Rui and their best player, Anthony Davis.

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The trade made sense for both teams as Young provides the Laker spacing and scoring, two aspects that the team lacked during the Playoffs loss to the Nuggets and as for the Hawks, the team will get an All-NBA calibre player in Anthony Davis and a solid young star in Rui Hachimura to pair up with Dejounte Murray, essentially making them a championship contender in the East.

Whether LeBron might look to play out his remaining two years with the Lakers or not will heavily dictate this situation as the Lakers are in panic mode to win another Ring next season.

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