Anthony Davis is on the verge of becoming basketball’s best player, and he wants to take the New Orleans Pelicans to the mountain top with him.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, the reigning All-NBA First Team honoree has agreed to a five-year, $145 million contract extension with the Pelicans.
New Orleans star Anthony Davis has agreed to a five-year, $145 million maximum contract extension, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2015
Davis’ new contract will take effect for the 2016-2017 season, keeping him in New Orleans through 2020-2021. Though upper-echelon players normally remain with their incumbent teams coming off rookie contracts, some thought the impending cap boom in advance of 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 might convince the Pelicans’ superstar to opt for a shorter deal.
Instead, Davis and New Orleans have agreed to a contract that will in all likelihood take advantage of the “Derrick Rose Rule,” a stipulation that allows players signing their second deal who have reached specific incentives to earn up to 30 percent of the salary cap. A normal max-level contract afforded to players with less than six years of experience is worth 25 percent of the first year’s cap.
With Davis locked up long-term, the Pelicans remain one of the most promising franchises in basketball. Needless to say, New Orleans fans should be as excited about this development as The Brow appears to be.
https://twitter.com/AntDavis23/status/616094429984616448/photo/1
Congratulations, AD!
[Via Adrian Wojnarowski, Anthony Davis]
