Anthony Davis is increasingly the present and future of the Los Angeles Lakers.
There was no push and pull or indecision about how to proceed, whether together or separately. As soon as they had the chance, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers have extended their union: another 3 years at $186 million which, added to the two-year period that would have expired at the end of the 2024-2025 season, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski, form a five-year period until 2027-2028, with the $63 million last season subject to player option.
As indicated by Spotrac, given the entry into force of the new television contract for the NBA which will yield enormous revenues – and consequently greater spending possibilities for individual organizations – the salary received by a player is to be compared to the amount of wages that a franchise can afford to spend annually.
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Il 33.5% of the cap space that Davis’ contract will cover is not such a sensational percentage for the Lakers. There was a lot of fuss about it supermax from Jaylen Brown’s fully guaranteed $304 million with the Celtics: in 2028-2029, the last year in which he will be under contract, the $65.6 million that JB will earn will only be equivalent to 31.5% of cap space. From the point of view of long-term wage employment, the Lakers would save money towards the end of AD’s contractunlike what might have happened if the player had become free agent in 2024. Davis would have been eligible for a five-year contract worth over $304 million (essentially the same contract as Jaylen Brown), increasing his deal by one year and total salary. From $344×6 to $270.5×5: definitely not a little.
The renewal of Davis was the priority for the yellow-purple Los Angeles. Not so much because he would enter free agency next summer – being represented by Klutch Sports, the same agency that also represents LeBron, the risk was laughable – but to give a sense of continuity, after James himself has retired, and avoid of ending up in the limbo that Los Angeles experienced in the post-Kobe era: too weak and too immature to compete at a high level, but the wrong city in which to attempt the rebuilding. So, what can Anthony Davis expect from here on out on the pitch? The question is more than legitimate.
Davis has missed at least 26 RS and Playoff games due to injury in the last three seasons in LA – 36 or more in two cases – and hasn’t played 65 or more games since 2017-18. The medical record of the Kentucky product of the last 4 seasons is filled not only with injuries of various types but also with doubts and fears about the near future.
In the 2020-21, calf and Achilles tendon problems forced him to miss exactly half of the 72 matches of the RS shortened due to Covid; in the first round of the Playoffs which the Lakers lost 4-2 against Phoenix, Davis did not play game 5 due to a groin strain, the same problem which then forced him to withdraw after 5′ of game 6; In the 2021-2022, he played only 40 of the 82 total games due to a sprain of the medial collateral ligament of his left knee and, upon his return, he injured his right ankle; In the 2022-2023he missed a total of 26 games due to an injury that never fully healed to his right foot, which also affected him in the postseason.
Like it or not, the Lakers will have to moderate the use of the former New Orleans player: when he is at his best, Davis has proven to be a player who really changes the game plans of NBA attacks. The impact he had on both sides of the court in the year of the title, in the Orlando bubble, in his first year in the yellow and purple jersey, is perhaps the most striking example: according to NBA.com, his DefRtg was 101.8 PPG in RS , versus the team’s 106.1 PPG; in the playoffs his DefRtg was 106.6 PPG, higher, but still lower than that of any quintet fielded by the Lakers on the pitch (108.7 PPG). The versatility and ability to bring help on the P&R or to change in certain defensive situations allowed the Lakers not to get into difficulty against the various Lillard, Harden, Murray or Butler.
Using Davis as a 4 also allowed the former New Orleans player to contest and alter a good portion of opposing three-point shots (4.7 per game).
In attack then, again for NBA.com, the personal OffRtg 120.7 was 9 points higher than the team’s 111.7 in RS, transformed into an astronomical 130.1 in the Playoffs against the Lakers’ 115.6ppg: 26.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in the regular season when he tied his shoes, 27.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in the playoffs, with a True Shooting Percentage of 61.0%. Palpable dominance, the main reason the Lakers walked away with the Larry O’Brien Trophy from Orlando.
Paradoxically, his True Shooting Percentage it was even higher last season (62.7%), the best of his career, as was his field goal percentage (56.3%) (via Statmuse). It’s paradoxical because since the title year, Davis has regressed as jump-shooter, particularly from beyond the arc (his attempts declined each season in Los Angeles; he shot 26.0% or worse from 3 in three straight seasons). The bad percentages encourage him to shoot significantly less from outside, 218 attempts in 2019-2020 compared to 74 in 2022-2023, not allowing the Lakers to widen the court enough to exploit the qualities of penetrators like LeBron and Austin Reaves.
The 22.6 points, 14.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game recorded in the Playoffs are more than good figures, which helped Los Angeles reach the Conference finals, only to be swept by the steamroller Denver. A clear postcard of how Anthony Davis and all the Lakers have suffered Nuggets you can find it by rewinding the tape we are 1: 40 points and 10 rebounds for Davis, but the constant feeling of always being at the mercy of Jokic. In attack, the yellow and purple #3 scored a good part of the points with medium distance jump-shots or with floaters, shots which do not put much effort on the opposing defense and which induce a foul on the direct scorer.
Defensively, after alternating individual marking and doubling Jokic, Darwin Ham opted to exclude Davis from Jokic’s primary marking – moving him first to Jeff Green or Aaron Gordon – to avoid using him at the tip and ensnaring the Monobrow’s innate rim protector and roaming abilities.
Just game 1 against Denver shows how much Davis is the barometer of the yellow and purple: there is one of Jokic – fortunately for the rest of the NBA and unfortunately for all fans of the Game – and there is only one of Denver, but the impact that the Lakers big man manages to have on the game always provides more than one clue as to what the outcome of the game will be.
In addition to Davis’ extension, the Lakers have restarted, in addition to Lebron, with the confirmation of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura: continuity, to confirm the good things done last season from the February Trade Deadline onwards. A new assault on the titleperhaps the last of LeBron James’ career, will perhaps have the face of some extemporaneous hero, but will certainly be marked by the player designated to be the present and long-term future of the franchise: Anthony Davis.
2023-11-22 15:00:00
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