Davis agrees to five-year deal with Lakers, report

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The Los Angeles Lakers are poised to sign Anthony Davis to a five-year contract worth tens of millions of dollars just one day after they locked up superstar LeBron James with a two-year extension, the US media reported Thursday.

Davis’ contract is worth $190 million and it comes on the heels of his first season in Los Angeles where he combined with James to lead the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship, the Los Angeles Times said.

On Wednesday, James’ agent said the NBA star agreed to a two-year, $85 million contract extension which would keep him with the team through 2023-24.

Together the dynamic duo lifted the hapless Lakers out of six consecutive seasons of turmoil and losing to form the centrepiece of the offense.

The 27-year-old Davis spent seven season with the New Orleans Pelicans before being traded to Los Angeles in June 2019 for three players, including Lonzo Ball, and several draft picks.

Davis opted out of the final year of his contract to become a free agent in the days after the Lakers won the title in the quarantine bubble in Florida. He can now make $43.2 million in the final year of his new deal.

He was 10th in the NBA in scoring at 26.1 points per game and averaged 9.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2019-20 with the Lakers.

Davis was the first pick in the 2012 NBA entry draft.

© Agence France-Presse