Anthony Davis accomplished his primary objective with the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this week when the team won an NBA championship, the first of Davis’ career. Now, Davis has a major decision facing him this offseason, as his contract gives him the option of opting out of his deal and becoming a free agent.
The rumbling for some time has been that Davis will choose to go down this path, and on Thursday morning, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that this is indeed the plan. He did, however, note that Davis has no intention of going anywhere else, and his agent, Rich Paul, is going to sit down with the team and figure out a deal.
“Davis plans to opt out of his $28.7 million player option and re-sign with the Lakers, sources tell The Athletic,” Charania wrote. “Davis and his agent, Rich Paul, will hold meetings in the coming weeks to discuss the situation and the contract term that is most sensible for Davis.”
The “most sensible” phrase is interesting, because as Charania lays out, there are a number of paths that involve X years + a player option that Davis could explore. There are, of course, questions right now about where the league’s salary cap will sit entering this next offseason, and while Davis could take a LeBron James-esque deal that gives him the flexibility to opt out following next season, he could just as easily explore something more long-term that lets him decide to hit free agency as the league’s salary cap rises.
None of this is particularly surprising, because Davis deciding to leave the Lakers after winning a ring and being set up nicely to defend the title would be a strange decision. Still, for any of the other 29 teams that hoped to possibly get their foots in the door, it seems like that option will not present itself.
