Lakers Rumors: Anthony Davis Contract Extension Unlikely to Be Pursued Over Summer

The Los Angeles Lakers may not prioritize an extension with Anthony Davis this offseason, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

"You hope Anthony Davis stays healthy and you get the best out of him next year," McMenamin said on ESPNLA 710's Sedano & Kap (via RealGM). "But I don't think they're going to be in a position to be interested in a long-term extension for him this summer."

Brian Windhorst of ESPN provided a different opinion Monday on Get Up. He said the Lakers. "do not want [Davis] messing with free agency in 2024" and that re-signing him is a "primary offseason thing."

Davis' five-year, $189.9 million contract contains an early termination option for 2024-25, which would wipe out his $43.2 million salary for that season.

If the Lakers wanted to be pragmatic, then they could wait until the eight-time All-Star hits the open market before committing to another massive deal. Maybe the front office prefers to maintain some flexibility given the questions over LeBron James' future and the longstanding concerns over Davis' durability.

It's unlikely but not implausible that Los Angeles would look to move on from the LeBron/AD axis in some way by 2024.

Patience isn't really a luxury the Lakers can afford, though.

That was the bargain when they first signed James in 2018. Any team with the 19-time All-Star basically has to go all-in every season, salary-cap and financial implications be damned.

Re-signing Davis now wouldn't preclude L.A. from trading him at a later date, either. If anything, it might be more advantageous since flipping him for draft picks or another star could position the franchise for whatever the next era looks like.

Davis' contract figures to be among the many subplots surrounding the Lakers this summer.