Why signing Anthony Davis makes it impossible for the Lakers to get Giannis Antetokounmpo

The moment all NBA fans were waiting for has finally arrived: Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers recently agreed to a 5-year, $190 million contract extension right after LeBron James signed a 2-year, $85 million extension.

That means that they have pretty much ensured that they’ll be competitive and relevant until half of next decade, which is terrible news for the rest of the league and music to Lakers fans’ ears.

Then again, that also means that the dream of pairing Giannis Antetokunmpo with LeBron James and Anthony Davis has now officially come to an end. That’s becausethey don’t have enough cap flexibility to put them all together.

Anthony Davis’ Contract Extension Eliminates The Lakers From The Race For Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Los Angeles Lakers were reportedly one of the most interested teams in making a run at the Greek Freak. That, obviously, assuming he didn’t sign a max contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks.

But now that the Lakers have put together two max contracts, that scenario is all but impossible, unless Giannis decides to take a massive discount to pursue a ring dressed in purple and gold.

That’s not likely to be the case, given the fact that he could either take a bunch load of money from the Milwaukee Bucks or join a bigger market team for a huge paycheck and still compete for an NBA championship.

Nonetheless, even if having Antetokounmpo next to legends of the likes of LeBron and Davis sounds great in the paper, the truth is that the Lakers are coming off winning the NBA Finals with that core, so Giannis needs them more than they need Giannis.

Also, they couldn’t jeopardize the future of the franchise under the hope that Giannis turns down the supermax contract extension from Milwaukee, especially considering he’s repeatedly stated his desire to stay with the team.