Anthony Davis, Gordon Hayward, More NBA Contract Option Dates Revealed

With the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupting the 2019-20 NBA season, some impending free agents will have more time to weigh whether or not to opt in with their current teams for next year.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis will need to decide by Oct. 14. The quartet of Gordon Hayward, DeMar DeRozan, Mike Conley Jr. and Andre Drummond have an Oct. 17 deadline.

The general expectation is that the best free agents will opt out because it wouldn't make financial sense not to. Players can often get more money on a short-term deal while giving up the long-term security that comes with a multiyear contract.

The pandemic, however, is bound to carry significant financial repercussions across the NBA. The New York Post's Marc Berman reported in May the salary cap is all but certain to be lower for 2020-21.

Teams were already preparing for 2021, when Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, De'Aaron Fox, LeBron James and Paul George are among those eligible for free agency. As a result, general managers were happy to take on bad contracts that leave them with little spending flexibility this summer.

As a result of the pandemic, there might be even less money to go around.

Drummond ($28.7 million), Hayward ($34.2 million), Conley ($34.5 million) and DeRozan ($27.7 million) are all being paid handsomely in the final year of their current contracts. It's difficult to see why they would decide to turn down a sure thing with so much up in the air.

Davis is the exception in that he's all but guaranteed to collect a max salary, be it from the Lakers or another team. Max salaries are tied to the cap, though. The money Davis and other players can earn on max deals will likely be much less now compared to recent seasons.

Accepting a one- or two-year contract could be Davis' best move because he'd leave himself the option to return to free agency at a time when the NBA's revenue streams may have returned more to normal.