Anthony Davis clearly isn’t having a ball in Los Angeles. The day LeBron James broke the all-time scoring record, Davis was the only one in the whole arena still in his seat and couldn’t even manage a smile.
He then deleted his Instagram account following the Lakers’ loss to Portland on February 13.
Now, the fact that he hasn’t been able to stay healthy and properly contribute since their title in 2020 is reportedly grating on LeBron James, who has been playing crazy minutes as a 38-year-old in order to carry the team.
“LeBron and his camp have been frustrated by how many minutes he has to play,” Fox Sports Colin Cowherd said. “They can’t depend on Anthony Davis. They are also mad that Darvin Ham is not keeping the pressure on Anthony Davis… I talked to an NBA source who I’ve known for a long time, he said the Dallas Mavericks and Anthony Davis, keep your eye on it. Anthony Davis is pouting, LeBron’s holding him accountable, LeBron’s not happy with him, AD’s gone into a funk, it’s not a coincidence.”
Dallas are reportedly looking to add another star to their roster to play alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but on the Lakers’ end, there have been whispers that they would like to sign Kyrie Irving over the summer and pair him with James and Davis.
But if Davis can’t prove to the Lakers that he can be reliable, they may not even make it that far.
Davis is averaging 25.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the season but as always, it’s been his frequent injuries that have been a problem. He has also failed to reach 20 points in three of his past four games and also had five turnovers in his most recent game against the Bucks.
His five-year, $190 million contract ends in 2025 and has an earlier termination option in 2024.