It surprises, how LeBron James is responsible for Anthony Davis' Extension

The news of the week has been the announcement of the Lakers having signed Anthony Davis for an impressive 3-year 186 million extension. It seems that it has been a master move by GM Rob Pelinka, but there's more to it.

It has now been revealed the influence of the Lakers' decision to extend Anthony Davis up to 2028, is because LeBron James, as one Western Conference executive recently said:

“Nothing happens in a vacuum in all this,” one Western Conference executive spoke. “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.”

James has never been one for long-term contracts, and that’s not changing at this stage of his career. He is entering the final year of his contract, which will pay him $47.6 million for next year. He does have a player option for 2024-25, at $51.4 million. Most expect that James will stay put with the Lakers for however long he chooses to play in the NBA.

How extending Anthony Davis paves the way for LeBron James to stay more time in LA

Keeping Davis in place and well-paid “paves the way,” for LeBron to finish his career as a Laker, the executive said: “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." Said the WC executive.