Anthony Davis and his representation from Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports got what they wanted, as news broke on Saturday of Davis getting traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, it appears that because of some timing quirks in the collective bargaining agreement, making the most of Davis’ first year in Los Angeles may come at a steep financial cost.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the crucially important detail on Sunday morning that the trade between the Pelicans and Lakers would officially go through on July 6. That dramatically cuts the available cap space for the Lakers from over $32 million to just $23.2 million. However, if Davis waives his $4 million trade bonus that would see the Lakers cap space to $27 million, which would be enough to offer a free agent a 25% max contract.
So the ball is in Davis’ court now, but everyone knows his court is in the same neighborhood as LeBron James and Rich Paul. Do they join forces and talk about this together?
Do Davis, LeBron and Klutch Sports trust the Lakers enough to turn down the money? Do they really believe they can get a third star? $4 million is a lot of money and it would be a staggering sum to turn down. The other alternative is that Davis and Rich Paul re-negotiate the portion of his bonus, which is currently a 15% kicker. If they agree to lower the percentage, that could be a win for both sides, according to NBA Wire Cap expert Yossi Gozlan.
But to have the possibility of adding a third star player and truly make the Lakers the championship contender everyone believes they are, Davis will have to absorb the cost.
