The Los Angeles Lakers have a decision to make about Anthony Davis this summer.
Come this August, the team could offer Davis a contract extension of up to three years.
Or they could just let him sit on his current contract, which gives him an early termination clause for the 2024-25 season.
There have been conflicting reports: some say that the Lakers will lock him into a new deal this summer.
Others say that the team will wait and see how next year goes.
Skip Bayless believes that the Lakers need to re-sign Davis because there isn’t anybody who could replace him.
“It’s just impossible to replace this guy, unless you tell me you can substitute in Embiid or Jokic,” Bayless said on Wednesday’s Undisputed.
"It's just impossible to replace this guy, unless you tell me you can substitute in Embiid or Jokić."@RealSkipBayless on report the Lakers aren't pursuing a long-term extension for AD pic.twitter.com/46NblCdSZb
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 7, 2023
Davis averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2 blocks a game this season.
During the playoffs, he brought that up to 14.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks, which is a league-high.
There really are few other players who could replace the sort of output that Davis produces for his team.
Yet, there are other things to consider too – mostly, the future of LeBron James.
The Lakers are possibly holding off on signing Davis to a new, longer deal because they want to see how things pan out with James.
If James only plays for another season or is showing more signs of deterioration in 2023-24, the Lakers will want to be focusing their attention on the future of the franchise.
As great as Davis can be, it’s become clear that he may never be the team’s number-one option.
They will want to be searching for that – and saving their money for it – if James is on the way out.
Davis and James have become a combination deal, they always work best as a unit.
The Lakers might want to wait and see how the next season goes before they offer Davis a chance to lead the team on his own.
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