The Knicks’ plans of landing at least one superstar this offseason in NBA free agency went up in smoke, but Anthony Davis just gave them a glimmer of hope for next summer.
During an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Davis was asked whether he views himself as a pillar for the Lakers over the next decade, as general manager Rob Pelinka described him Saturday during Davis’ introductory press conference last weekend. Davis’ answer was a potentially alarming one for the Lakers.
“Honestly, Rachel, I’m just focused on this season. I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Davis said. “I have one year here, so I’m gonna make the best of this year, and when that time comes around in the summer or whenever the season’s over — hopefully around mid-June after we just had this parade and I need a couple of days to think — then we can talk about that. But until then, I’ll try to do whatever I can to help this team win this year.”
Davis’ plan, along with agent Rich Paul, has been to reach unrestricted free agency in 2020. But the Lakers have put all of their eggs in this basket after giving up a ton of assets to pair Davis with LeBron James and create cap space for a third star — they lost out to the rival Clippers in their pursuit of Kawhi Leonard.
What if the dream of playing alongside James does not match reality for Davis? Kyrie Irving once famously forced his way off the Cavaliers and out of James’ shadow.
The Post reported that the Knicks and Lakers were Davis’ two preferred trade destinations, and as the Knicks have added a bunch of players on short-term deals, they’ve left themselves cap flexibility for next summer. The Knicks backed off from a potential Davis trade with the Pelicans as they believed they couldn’t match New Orleans’ demands.
But Davis just left the door ajar for a potential cross-country move next summer.