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NBA free agency begins today (Friday) at 3:00 pm PT. But just because Anthony Davis has had weeks (or, honestly, months) to consider what kind of deal he will re-sign with the Lakers, don’t necessarily expect his decision to leak quickly.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Davis will make the Lakers wait until at least Thanksgiving. Anyway, it’s good that none of us can see our families this year:
Klutch Sports CEO and Davis agent Rich Paul will be in contact with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka after 6 p.m. Friday, sources said, but Davis plans to wait minimally until April Day. Thanksgiving as you consider your options on maximum contract length and structure. offers.
Davis, 27, has several possible scenarios in a new deal with the Lakers, including a three-year, $ 106 million deal that would include a player option in the 2022-23 season, a structure that would line Davis up with the finale. by LeBron James. ‘agreement.
Wojnarowski reiterated all previous reports that Davis was expected to re-sign with the Lakers when all of this was said and done, so this isn’t something to really panic about, but it’s also fair to ask: Why the wait? Because let’s face it: Davis has known what types of contracts he can get from the Lakers since he was transferred to the team, and he and his team have had an idea of how the value of those deals may change as a result of the pandemic. for weeks and months.
So why the delay? It’s not that he’s only legally allowed to think about free agency once the market opens, or that he and his group surely haven’t had a dialogue with each other and the Lakers about all of this.
Well, reading between the lines of the other information that Wojnarowski decided to include in his report about waiting for Davis, it’s easy to postulate a theory as to why Davis may be resisting:
Some of (LeBron) James’s free agent windows with Cleveland spanned a period of weeks, so this is a familiar plan for star clients with Paul. Paul represents another Lakers free agent, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who is seeking a meaningful new deal with the Lakers, or elsewhere.
Again, we don’t know this to be the case, but it seems pretty clear what’s going on here: Davis is doing his agency partner (and agent) a favor by keeping the pressure on the Lakers to pay Caldwell-Pope. the “major new deal” you’re looking for “with the Lakers (* dramatic music plays * boom boom ASS) …or somewhere else.
As Wojnarowski mentions, this is straight out of Klutch Sports’ trading playbook. He got JR Smith and Tristan Thompson paid too. It gives Paul the flexibility to say, as Brian Windhorst, a man well versed in the Book of Paul, told our own Jas Kang, that while Caldwell-Pope may not get a great deal on the open market, it is worth one. . to the Lakers because they can’t easily replace it:
“If your answer to that is that there is no one out there to pay Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $ 15 million a year, I agree with you, especially in this market. But I can see Rich Paul saying, ‘Yeah, it’s worth 15 million to you.’
Again, none of this suggests that Davis will leave the Lakers, but until he puts pen to paper, the team will be under the gun to make sure he does, and if that means bringing Caldwell-Pope back quickly for take care of it. of that, that may be something that is necessary.
In fairness to Davis, this isn’t something he’s necessarily hurting the Lakers on, and he owes them nothing anyway. Bringing back Caldwell-Pope, as I have written in this space several times, absolutely should Be a priority for the team if you want to defend your title. This is not a situation where you are hurting the team by waiting and trying to make sure that happens, and you have earned the ability to take care of yourself and your friends.
And look, Davis may also want to see what kind of roster the Lakers can build during this extended offseason, Caldwell-Pope or not Caldwell-Pope. There are many logical reasons for Davis to wait, but it’s probably not because he still needs time to think about the options he has known about for months. That’s absolutely Davis’ decision, but let’s be clear about why he’s probably doing it.
As a result, we hope. Until at least Thanksgiving. Pass the filling, all of you. We will be here for a while.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast at iTunes, Spotify, Stapler or Google podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.
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