Rob Pelinka thanks Anthony Davis for waiving trade kicker, excited about building around him in future
Ashish Mathur
Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is grateful superstar big man Anthony Davis waived his $4 million trade kicker.
The Lakers were able to add more depth around LeBron James and Davis with the extra cap space. Los Angeles signed DeMarcus Cousins, Danny Green, Quinn Cook, Avery Bradley and Jared Dudley, and re-signed Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Pelinka also just thanked Anthony Davis for waiving his trade-kicker, and praised the commitment to the team it showed because they were able to find helpful players with that space.
Pelinka just said the Lakers are in a position to win now, but also to build around Anthony Davis moving forward.
Anthony Davis becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, but it would be a shock if AD doesn't re-sign with the Lakers. LeBron signed a four-year deal with LA last offseason. The King has a player option for the 2021-22 season. At some point, the Lakers are going to become Davis' team if he ends up signing a long-term deal with them.
Davis is arguably a top-five player in the NBA. He has career averages of 23.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.4 blocks while shooting 51.7 percent from the field, 31.4 percent from beyond the arc and 79.5 percent from the free-throw line. James has the second-best player efficiency rating in NBA history at 27.6. Davis is third at 27.4. Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan is first at 27.9.
Barring something unforeseen happening, the Lakers will make the playoffs in 2019-20. Once you have two superstars like LeBron and AD in the postseason, anything can happen. Laker fans are hoping the duo can lead the team to a championship.
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Related TopicsAnthony DavisLakersRob Pelinka