Los Angeles Lakers: Why you should be concerned about Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis has played only six games with the Los Angeles Lakers thus far and we are already looking ahead to him potentially leaving the team.

The Los Angeles Lakers trading for Anthony Davis was a huge deal and those that overlooked the trade in the offseason are being reminded thus far this year why it was so important. The Lakers are rolling early on with a 5-1 record and Davis has been a huge component of the Lakers’ success.

Davis is averaging 23.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and three blocks per game. He and LeBron James have been one of the most talented duos we have seen in quite some time (arguably having more all-around talent than Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry).

Heck, Davis has already made history this year as well. He became only the second player in NBA history with a 40-point, 20-rebound game that included 25 free throws made. The only other player to do this was Wilt Chamberlain in his 100-point game.

It has been fun to watch Davis in the purple in gold thus far. However, the one raining cloud that has been hovering over Laker fans’ heads this entire time is the possibility of Davis only being a Laker for one year.

Davis has a player option after this season and did not commit to an extension with the Lakers prior to the season. After that, the worrisome possibility of Davis not enjoying his time in LA and deciding to move on, or even moving on if he gets a championship with the team, became much more real.

Those fears became even more real on Monday with Davis’ comments. Davis took part in a Nike Q&A event on Monday and was very flattering of his hometown city of Chicago. After being asked if he would come home and play for the Bulls, Davis answered, “I am a free agent next year, but we’ll see. It’s a possibility.” (h/t ESPN).

There are two sides to this coin. This first is the idea that Davis was simply being kind and did not want to shut down the idea of him playing for the Bulls in front of a lot of Chicago kids. It is definitely harder to just say no when you are in that situation.

However, he did not even give the civil answer that we always see in this situation. We did not get the “right now, my focus is on bringing the Lakers an NBA Championship.” To his credit, Davis did say he didn’t know, but he also said there is nothing like playing at home.

That is worrying. As much as some fans may want to downplay the situation, there are obvious seeds that are already planted and Davis is watering them with these comments.

Whether they are unsuccessful and the LeBron relationship doesn’t work out or he wins a Championship and decides to move on, the Chicago Bulls are a massive threat of signing away Anthony Davis, whether you realize it or not.

Let’s just hope that the glitz and glamour of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers outweighs playing at home for a young Chicago Bulls team.