Despite failing to secure a deal before the February NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers still succeeded to acquire All-Star center Anthony Davis in the 2019 NBA offseason by sending a trade package including Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and multiple first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans. Trading all those valuable assets is undeniably worth it for the Lakers as they added one of the best active players in the league on their roster.
However, since the deal between the Lakers and the Pelicans became official, Anthony Davis hasn’t given the Purple and Gold any assurance that he would re-sign when he hits the free agency market in the summer of 2020. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic , as quoted by Bleacher Report , whenever he’s asked about his long-term future with the Lakers, Davis’ answer remains “unchanged.”
A source who spoke to The Athletic ‘s Sam Amick revealed that the Lakers are still the heavy favorite to sign Anthony Davis in the 2019 NBA free agency, especially if they “don’t f–k it up” in the 2019-20 NBA season.
“Every time he’s asked to discuss his long-term future with the Lakers, his answer remains unchanged. ‘I just want to focus on this year,’ he’ll say (or something close to it). As one person close to him said when asked to explain how people should see the Lakers’ chances of retaining Davis here, ‘Just don’t f–k it up.’ Translation: They’re all alone in pole position, but you still have to get it over the finish line without the car going up in flames.”
Anthony Davis teamed up with LeBron James in Los Angeles with only one goal in mind — to win his first NBA championship title. However, if they underperform and fail to at least reach the NBA Finals in the 2019-20 NBA season, there’s a strong chance for Davis to explore other options in the summer of 2020. Once he considers entertaining other offers, most teams are sure to do everything they can to create enough salary cap space to sign the All-Star center.
Aside from the Lakers, the other NBA team where Anthony Davis will reportedly consider staying long-term is the New York Knicks. After failing to acquire their top targets – Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard – in the 2019 NBA free agency, the Knicks purposedly filled their roster with one-year contracts to maintain their salary cap flexibility next summer where Davis is expected to be on the top of the list of their free-agent targets.