Tag: Lakers free agency

Klutch Lakers free agents: KCP and AD both opt-out as expected

Both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Anthony Davis executed the formality of becoming free agents, although both are likely to return.

The Los Angeles Lakers have quite a few free agents, as well as a potential free agent in Avery Bradley, whom they have to consider re-signing for their title defense. After getting Dennis Schröder in a trade with the Thunder, the Lakers still have some options in the trade market but will mostly be focused on free agency. Two of their free agents have already told the Lakers that they will opt-out, as was expected. According to reports, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Anthony Davis have both officially opted out of their player options in order to enter the free-agent marketplace. Davis, of course, is expected to re-sign with the Lakers on a more lucrative deal and Caldwell-Pope may find some offers in the marketplace, particularly from the Atlanta Hawks, who have the most cap space available and play in his home state of Georgia.

This week is just getting started and with the draft on Wednesday and free agency starting Friday, the fireworks should be quite memorable.

LeBron James recently shared a drink with free agent Tristan Thompson

The Los Angeles Lakers could be in the market for another center this offseason with Dwight Howard’s contract expiring.

Nobody knows quite exactly when free agency will begin, but an educated guess put it starting a few days after the 2020 NBA Draft on November 18. While the league and the player’s union are still discussing the details around how the next season will look like, teams around the league are already starting to prepare free agency plans. That, of course, includes LeBron James. While Lakers president Rob Pelinka will execute the plans for the Lakers, LeBron’s presence as a recruiter and approver looms over the process. That’s why it’s no small thing that LeBron tweeted last week about having a drink with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate and 2020 free agent Tristan Thompson. He also tweeted a reply to Thompson later that said “more to come.”

One of the potential side-effects of the NBA’s short term losses in revenue due to the coronavirus is that contracts may not be what they appear in writing, because team owners are hoping to hold more of the salaries in escrow due to the drop in revenue. This may result in more players taking cheaper deals to potentially win a championship, a category that Thompson absolutely falls into. He is coming off a pretty big contract with the Cavaliers but after two seasons in which the Cavs struggled, he may want to get back to the bright lights of big games.

Lakers center Dwight Howard, who was key in the season and the playoffs, is a free agent again and is expected to have interest from other teams, including the Golden State Warriors. DeMarcus Cousins has also a popular solution at center now that he should be recovered from his torn ACL and his friendship with Anthony Davis. Thompson, a better defensive player and offensive rebounder at this stage of his career than Cousins or Howard, is a longtime client of Klutch Sports Group and Rich Paul.

We also have to discuss that Thompson has a daughter who lives in the Los Angeles area with her mother, Khloe Kardashian. So a move to the Lakers would not only be a reunion on the court with LeBron James and a return to relevant basketball, it could also potentially be the preferred move for Thompson’s personal life.

 

How Anthony Davis can earn much more money through free agency

Davis rejected it not because he wants to leave the Lakers but because he could earn more money by signing a contract as a free agent.

This week the Lakers offered forward Anthony Davis a maximum contract extension. It would’ve locked him up for the next four years and pay him $145.6 million. His salary next year would’ve started him at $32.5 million, a 20 percent raise, then $35.1 million, $37.7 million, and $40.3 million the following three seasons. However, Davis can make much more money by rejecting the offer, which he reportedly did earlier this week.

The Lakers offered it merely as a formality and sign of respect. Davis rejected it not because he wants to leave the Lakers but because he could earn more money by signing a contract as a free agent.

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The salary cap for 2020-21 is currently projected at $116 million. This would make Davis eligible to sign a deal with the Lakers worth $203.58 million over five years. Even if Davis only signs for four years, those four years of a maximum contract would have him earn $11.6 million more than the four years of a maximum extension.

Davis can earn even more money if he signs a short-term deal this summer. Davis currently has 8 years of service, making his projected $203.58 million maximum contract for this summer worth 30 percent of the salary cap. Once he completes his 10th NBA season he is eligible to sign a five-year maximum contract worth 35 percent of the salary cap.

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According to Bill Oram, people inside the Lakers organization believe Davis is in favor of signing a two-year deal with a player option for 2022-23, also known as a “2 + 1.” He could also sign a one-year deal with a player option for 2021-22 (“1+ 1”), opt-out, then sign another “1 + 1”. Both allow him to maximize his earnings in the short-term while allowing him to re-enter free agency in 2022 once he’s eligible for the 35 percent maximum contract.

According to RealGM, the 2022-23 salary cap is currently projected at $131.25 million, though that figure is very fluid since the 2022 offseason is a while away. If that projection holds and Davis is still on the Lakers by then, he would be eligible to sign a five-year deal with the Lakers worth $266.4 million. Another team could sign him to a four-year deal worth $197.5 million.

Through two years of short term deals with the Lakers and the first two years of a 35 percent maximum contract with them, he would earn a projected $167.85 million through 2020-21 and 2023-24. That is approximately $10.6 million more Davis would earn in four years versus signing a maximum contract this summer, and he would still be owed $171 million over the following three seasons.

LeBron James played the “1 + 1” contract game with the Cavaliers during most of his second tenure with them. He did this not only to maximize his earnings but to also put pressure on the Cavaliers front office and ownership to keep a competitive roster around him. Expect fellow Klutch-mate Davis to follow in his footsteps and do the same dance with the Lakers over the next two seasons.

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