Anthony davis signed a three-year, $186 million contract with the Lakers. After reaching this contract, Davis’ contract will expire in the summer of 2028, with a total value of more than $270 million. The average annual renewal contract is $62 million, which is the highest in NBA history, higher than Jaylen Brown’s new contract, which is $304 million in five years and $60.8 million in an average year. If Davis keeps playing 60 games every season, his average salary will exceed $1 million during the renewal period.
Why did the Lakers renew Davis’ contract in advance?
In the regular season of 2022-23, Davis averaged 34 minutes per game, scoring 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks.
The record of averaging 25 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in a single season is the third player in the history of the Lakers to achieve this achievement, second only to Shaq O ‘Neal and Tiangou Jabbar.
Davis has averaged 24.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game since his Lakers career. He has a championship and two All-Stars, and has the best lineup and the best defensive lineup.
Pelinka, the general manager of the Lakers, thinks that Davis is the best player in the Lakers, an incredible captain and leader, and the main reason why the Lakers can win the championship in 2020. At the same time, in order to make the team enter the Western Conference finals last season, he is willing to continue playing with a foot injury. Therefore, Pelinka naturally hopes that Davis can stay with the Lakers.
As a two-way business alliance, if one side of the team fails to provide a suitable offer for contract renewal, the players with outstanding performance may naturally jump out of the contract to exert pressure, and it may be even more difficult to renew the contract without paying the maximum salary in advance. And considering that James is 39 years old, Davis’ early contract renewal can cover the rest of James’ career. In addition, Davis will consider his own injuries, and the benefits of renewing the contract in advance definitely outweigh the disadvantages.
So naturally Davis can renew his contract in advance during the offseason.
After renewing Davis’ contract in advance, the Lakers’ transactions since the offseason are as follows: renewing Davis’ contract in advance, renewing Russell’s contract, eight village bases and Reeves’ contract, and signing Vincent, Prince, Reddish and Hayes. During the offseason, we don’t make drastic changes to the team’s personnel list, keep the Western Conference lineup, win practical players, and make the lineup more reasonable.
The operation of the Lakers in the offseason is really commendable. To what extent do you think the Lakers’ record will be next season? Did you win the championship, win the Western Conference, have a second tour, have a first tour, or failed to enter the playoffs?