Lakers’ $186 Million Anthony Davis Contract Extension ‘Paves Way’ for LeBron James

Anthony Davis earned a massive contract extension with the Lakers, signing a $186 million deal, and many believe this is tightly connected to his buddy LeBron James.

AD will be on the Lakers roster through the 2027-28 season. He is a Klutch Sports client and we have people suggesting that the Lakers will keep LeBron around, too. They are friends represented by the same agency, and yes, the four-time NBA champion convinced the Lakers to bring AD in LA.

“Nothing happens in a vacuum in all this,” one Western Conference executive told Heavy Sports. “You can read all kinds of things into this, how fast it took place and all of that (Davis was first eligible to sign a deal with the Lakers on August 4, the day it happened). And there is a LeBron aspect to it. There always is.”

LeBron is in the final year of his contract and has a player option for the 2024-25 season. The king of basketball dropped a few hints about his eventual retirement, but seems really hyped to enter the new season with the team. What about Bronny? The kid will enter the NBA at some point and LeBron would definitely leave any team he plays on to join the team that gets his son.

Davis will get the best of his new deal and so will LeBron

The executive claims that Davis’ monster deal is definitely a way to keep LeBron around. Is he finishing his career as a Laker? This exec says, “yes”.

“You sign AD to this deal, there is the Klutch connection there, and LeBron has a certain level of responsibility for what Davis does with the Lakers. So of course, there is communication there. If LeBron was going to leave, that would change the conversation.

“Now, AD can change his mind if LeBron leaves the Lakers down the road and ask for a trade—everyone’s doing that now, right?—but the message to LeBron is that hey want him there and AD signing that is a message, too. It paves the way for these two guys to stay together for the foreseeable.”