Lakers' Updated Salary Cap Space After Anthony Davis' 5-Year, $190M Contract
The Los Angeles Lakers' 2020-21 roster is essentially set now that it is nearing a deal with superstar big man Anthony Davis.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Davis' agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, said Wednesday that Davis and the Lakers are finalizing a five-year, $190 million maximum contract that includes an early termination clause prior to the fifth season in 2024-2025.
ESPN's Bobby Marks provided a year-by-year breakdown of Davis contract, which includes a salary of about $32.7 million in 2020-21:
Per Spotrac, the Lakers had just over $95 million in salary-cap allocations for 2020-21 before signing Davis, and that number is now at just shy of $128 million.
The Lakers have no available cap space, so if they plan to sign anyone else, it must be via an exception or to a minimum contract.
L.A. acquired Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans last offseason, and although the price was steep, it was well worth it, as Davis combined with LeBron James to lead the Lakers to their first NBA championship since 2010.
It was a virtual lock that Davis would re-sign with the Lakers, but he took time to consider all of the potential contract options at his disposal before settling on the five-year, $190 million deal.
The 27-year-old Davis is a seven-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection and four-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection who served as the ideal running mate to James last season and figures to help make the Lakers the NBA championship favorites next season and beyond.
In his first campaign with the Lakers, Davis averaged 26.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 50.3 percent from the field.
AD was also excellent during the Lakers' playoff run, averaging 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals.
If not for LeBron's presence, Davis would have received far more serious consideration for both the NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP awards last season.
With James getting up there in age at nearly 36, having a player like Davis is key for the Lakers since he can take over as the go-to guy at some point during the life of his contract.
The Lakers are set up for success in the coming years thanks to the duo of James and Davis, but things look especially promising in 2020-21 due in part to the fact that they were so active on the free-agent and trade markets.
In addition to re-signing Davis, the Lakers have signed reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell away from the rival Los Angeles Clippers and acquired NBA Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Dennis Schroder from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
L.A. also signed veteran center Marc Gasol to offset the loss of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, plus it managed to retain key role players such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Markieff Morris.
The Lakers are as deep and talented as any team in the NBA, and unless they deal with significant injuries to some of their top players, they are in an ideal position to repeat as champions.
