Los Angeles Lakers: The impact of Anthony Davis signing an extension

It appears likely that Anthony Davis will sign an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.

We are already getting good news about Anthony Davis’s future with the Los Angeles Lakers just shortly after he won his first championship in the purple and gold. Davis, who had a player option for next season, appears to be in it for the long haul with the Lakers.

NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Anthony Davis plans on opting out of his contract this offseason and plans on signing an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers.

No further details have emerged from this report. Factors such as the number of years are still up in the air. Either way, this is a decision that many Laker fans expected this offseason, even though there were some tangible benefits in opting into the last year of his contract.

So what other implications does this have on the Los Angeles Lakers? How much does it affect the team moving forward?

The impact of Anthony Davis signing an extension:

1. Cannot use his Bird Rights next offseason

There is this dream scenario that the Los Angeles Lakers are seemingly preparing for that is going to get a bit tougher now. The Lakers have been gearing up for the 2021 offseason when Giannis Antetokounmpo, among others, are set to become free agents.

Rob Pelinka has set the salary cap in a way such that the Lakers would be able to bring in Giannis to create perhaps the best big-three in NBA history. Part of that dream scenario was Davis opting into his deal this year and then the team utilizing his Bird Rights next offseason to go over the cap to bring both of them in.

Getting Giannis (or another star) is still a posibility, but it does become tougher to manage this offseason, which will have a domino affect.

2. The Los Angeles Lakers may have fewer free-agent options

The Los Angeles Lakers could still utilize things such as the mid-level exception and veteran minimum contracts to fill out their roster. Trades are also a possibility as well and they do have their first-round pick this year.

The problem is that the Lakers may have to fill more holes than expected or spend more money to keep certain guys on the team. In that same Shams report, he reported that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to opt out of his contract for a new deal.

It has been seperately reported that Rajon Rondo is also interested in opting out and pursuing free agency. Those are two big pieces of the backcourt and it becomes harder to manage that situation with Davis signing an extension.

The reason being that Davis is going to make around $4 million more than he would have with his player option. Not a massive hike, but one that absolutely does make it harder to re-sign some of these players.

That could narrow down the free-agent field as well. If the Los Angeles Lakers truly are preparing for Giannis next summer then they are only going to bring in one-year free agents — but how many free agents are really going to be interested in one-year deals?

Rondo and KCP potentially opting out throws a big wrench in the entire plan and Davis’s extension certainly does not make things easier.

But at the end of the day, you still have to pay the man. If he wants a new contract right now then you give it to him right now. Because without him, the Los Angeles Lakers would not have sniffed the NBA Championship this season.