The defending champion Lakers have had arguably the best offseason of any team, setting them up to possibly repeat in 2020-21, and locking up both LeBron James and Anthony Davis is a big reason why.
A popular hot take in the past was that big-name free agents didn’t want to play with James, and, well, that’s been proven wrong. The Lakers signed both the No. 1 and No. 2 finishers in last season’s Sixth Man of the Year award, in acquiring Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder, giving them a far better bench than they’ve had in the past.
And, most importantly, they managed to retain arguably the best forward duo (if Davis is playing the four) in NBA history. James and Davis were both signed to new deals, and it’s fair to assume opposing NBA teams are looking to bolster the defense and rebounding in their frontcourt in an attempt to keep up.
Davis figures to be in Los Angeles for quite awhile, as he signed a five-year, $190 million deal this week. He spoke about how the deal will affect his career, and more, in speaking to reporters on Friday.
“It’s really hard for me to set goals like MVP, DPOY. I just kind of let that happen,” Davis said, via USA Today Sports. “If I go out there and play the way I’m supposed to and up to my potential, then those things just happen. The goal is to win another championship. I want to be the head of our defense. My [other] goal is to be on the floor as much as possible and not get injured.”
Davis even commented on Barack Obama’s comment, speculating that AD would do “all the work” going forward, helping out James.
“I am a lot younger than LeBron so I can see why President Obama would say something like that,” the 27-year-old Davis said. “How we’re going to tackle it, I’m not sure. We’re going to talk with the coaches, talk with the training staff and our individual trainers and figure out the best way to approach this season.”
Lakers just keep winning — on and off the court.
