Lakers Must Offer Anthony Davis Max Contract Amid Latest Rumors

As the Los Angeles Lakers prepare for what could well be their final season with LeBron James, Rob Pelinka and the front office appear to have at least one eye on the future.

That future will likely be centered (no pun intended) around L.A.'s second star, Anthony Davis.

Davis is an eight-time All-Star, a four-time All-NBA first-team selection and helped James and the Lakers win their last championship following the 2019-20 season. When healthy, he remains one of the top players in the game—he averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.1 steals per game last season.

While he does have a history of injuries, he's only 30 and should have several quality years ahead.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Lakers may soon look to ensure those years are played in Los Angeles.

"I do think there is an expectation that the Lakers make some sort of offer or show their intention to make some sort of offer," Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective podcast (h/t Jacob Rude of Silver Screen and Roll).

It would behoove L.A. to make a max offer when Davis becomes eligible for it on Friday. That would be a three-year offer worth up to $170 million that would ensure he is a Laker for the foreseeable future.

It's important to entice Davis now for two reasons. For one, James may retire or move on from Los Angeles in 2024. Secondly, Davis currently has an option year next season, and while he could opt out and re-sign on a five-year max deal, he could also be enticed by other franchises.

The Lakers must ensure that Davis walking away next offseason isn't even a possibility. When James does depart, he can take over as the centerpiece of the roster, with young players like Austin Reaves and Max Christie potentially becoming long-term building blocks beside him.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported last month that Pelinka does favor this plan and has appreciated what Davis has meant to the franchise.

"Anthony Davis in Rob [Pelinka's] estimation is someone that has represented the Lakers really well, citing how he played through his foot injury last year as a major reason why they won a championship in 2020 and he wants to continue to have Anthony Davis as a Laker," McMenamin said on The Lowe Post podcast (h/t Zach Stevens of Lakers Daily).

Having Davis, Reaves, Christie, Rui Hachimura and Jalen Hood-Schifino would give L.A. a solid foundation on which to build in the post-LeBron era. However, the Lakers will need to build a different squad than the one meant to complement Davis and James this season.

That means bringing in different players and tailoring a unit that highlights everything Davis does well. Los Angeles can begin the scouting process for such an endeavor now, but only if it knows that AD isn't going anywhere.

As things stand, losing Davis in 2024 remains a possibility. A three-year max extension would eliminate the threat and essentially lock him up for four more seasons beyond the current one.

Since Davis has an early-termination option and not a true player option, those three years would be tacked onto the 2024-25 season instead of replacing it. Four years is enough time for any long-term strategy Pelinka and Co. have to come to fruition, and it could yield another championship-caliber team.

And maybe Davis does ultimately eschew the early extension and look for the opt-out, re-sign five-year solution instead. That's OK if the Lakers can get some sort of assurance that he'll return and to get it, they must prove to Davis that they're serious about keeping him.

The first step in that process will be offering Davis a max contract as soon as L.A. is possibly able.