Los Angeles Lakers: Will Anthony Davis leave if the Lakers underperform?

Could Anthony Davis be a one-year wonder on the Los Angeles Lakers?

Right now, the biggest concern for Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers is raising championship banner no. 17. The Lakers are locked in as the first seed in the Western Conference and at the time of writing this, have three more seeding games before the NBA Playoffs begin.

Thus far, the Lakers have not looked great in the Orlando bubble. While most of these games do not really matter for the Lakers, it has to be concerning how bad the team has been playing since returning to action.

The Lakers have set a new season-low in field goal percentage in a game three times since the bubble resumed. Not only that, but the Lakers have been historically bad from three, which is really concerning in 2020.

At the end of the day, though, the Lakers have time to turn it on and we have seen this from LeBron James-led teams in the past. They look sluggish before the playoffs begin only to turn it on when it matters and take care of business.

But what if they don’t? What if this sluggish, uninspired form of basketball translates into the NBA Playoffs and the Los Angeles Lakers, somehow, shockingly lose in the first two rounds of the playoffs?

That would be disappointing, for sure, and could absolutely lead to long-term effects. Most notably, this could prompt Anthony Davis, who has a player option after this season, to test the market and potentially leave the team that traded for him.

Is this a possibility? Should Laker fans be worried about the team falling back into mediocrity? Let’s break down the possibility of Anthony Davis leaving after the season if the Lakers underperform, taking into account all of the reasons why he should stay and the reasons why he may want to leave.

Let’s start with the positive.