Anthony Davis Discussion: That's Why They Pay Me The Big Bucks

2K Q&A Twitter thread (click the Twitter post to see all of AD's video responses):



Btw the team-up with Ky was real.

 

more like can count on one finger, don't think I've seen anyone else do that. KD thinking "I don't need no fadeaways"

 

Meh ... another member of our "under performing" team that was unhappy enough with how it went down when he left to not say goodbye even to the fans. Saw a Yahoo headline couple days ago he threw some shade LBJ's way. Him and that Josh Hart. Good riddance. Expect the same in NO.

 

It's something that has always bugged me about NBA players not understanding that if they were traded for someone as good as AD, it's not a slight at all. It's not as if they were traded for Kwame Brown. AD is a top five player and the best at his position. Other than Joel Embiid or Jokic, no one else is in competition with AD as the best frontcourt basketball player. Lonzo, Ingram, and Hart are great young pieces but any of those three would be lucky to make an All-NBA team in their career while AD could possibly be a top five Lakers of all time. I wonder where this 'dog' mentality in Hart was at when LeBron and Lonzo were injured. We sure could have used some of that...

 

Hart was hurt himself and played through it as long as he could the last months of the season until he just couldn't. I can't believe we're cracking on him and Ingram. Lonzo with all the extra curricular media stuff is a different story. And in case it wasn't clear with the wording and wink above that was sarcasm.

 

All good stuff but getting Bron on the all defensive team at this stage of his career is a Mission Impossible plot even TC wouldn't touch. But hell yeah hold his a** accountable.

 

“Nah, it’s true. I said it. But the thing is, it’s a long season and you want to be smart,” Davis told Yahoo Sports. “Battling [centers] can wear on your body. So I think having JaVale [McGee] and having DeMarcus [Cousins] before he got hurt and now having Dwight [Howard] takes pressure off of me and allows me to play and withstand an 82-game season and going into the playoffs. But obviously, if we have to and we’re playing a big lineup where I’m at the five, then I’m willing to do it. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

Just sayin'

 

^^^Haha, not sure what you're driving at.

But he doesn't want to play the 5 in the regular season and is willing to play it if it means winning (ie postseason).

#BeenSayin'

I don't know why fans want to keep imposing that THE 2020 free agent play the 5 in the regular season, after he's asked repeatedly not to and sacrificed a 4m trade kicker & by proxy, a max extension, for the appropriate resources (ie another max player and/or center depth).

 

Late in games where he has an advantage against all big centers skills wise except Embiid, Jokic and who else (?) or at any point in the game if the opposing 5 is a more puny dude than AD I don't see a problem if he winds up at the 5 during that match up on the floor. Up to the coaching staff to make sure simply that he's not getting beat up out there like with Walton sticking Kuzma on the block against guys bigger and stronger than him to a silly degree. Will help a lot if our new step back J shooting mo fo Dwight can hit FTs better in crunch time now Of Course. Or be able to have McGee in there until late as possible.

 

I mean, he said he was happy with our c rotation before the cousins injury and after the Howard signing.

BEENSAYING

 

33m to spend at the bazaar and we ended up bargaining down to 7.5m in our center depth knowing damn well what AD wanted...bizarre. And when doomsday happened, we turned to bizzaro to rescue us. And that he did, by agreeing to a buyout.



You keep duck'n what he's actually say'n.

For Davis, the desire to play alongside a true center is real. Davis is comfortable playing minutes at center during the playoffs, a league source told The Athletic but prefers a true big next to him over a full regular season.

Either you're choosing to hear something else or it goes without say'n aka..

#INSAY'N

 

Only one person in this thread is choosing to hear things and wildly extrapolating instead of reading parsimoniously.

what davis actually said:

“Nah, it’s true. I said it. But the thing is, it’s a long season and you want to be smart,” Davis told Yahoo Sports. “Battling [centers] can wear on your body. So I think having JaVale [McGee] and having DeMarcus [Cousins] before he got hurt and now having Dwight [Howard] takes pressure off of me and allows me to play and withstand an 82-game season and going into the playoffs. But obviously, if we have to and we’re playing a big lineup where I’m at the five, then I’m willing to do it. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

literally saying that the guys we have signed does what needs to be done in his eyes, AND that he "obviously" knows there will be situations where he plays that spot. notice also that he qualifies that statement with "we're playing a big lineup". if i wanted to really drive my point home by inferring beyond his words (which no one around here does, of course), i would say this implies that he's perfectly willing to play the 5 against smallball lineups--which most of the league plays for at least 20-25mpg.

what vasashi keeps saying davis said:

"I gave up my trade kicker for a max guy or a center, and I'm angry that I got neither."

you know who's really angry about it? not davis. wanna know how i know? i read direct quotes from davis.

i hardly think i'm the one with the sanity issue.

 

“I don’t go into any year saying, okay, I don’t want to be here or nothing like that, but of course at some point, you want to win — and I feel like we are trying to get the right pieces around here. I think our front office is doing a better job. They’re doing the best job they can do. I feel like we’re moving in the right direction, but you do have to take it year by year and see where it goes. That’s how I’m approaching it. You know, of course, Cuz is a big factor and what he’s going to do or not, but I’m here until 2021, man, and then {I’ll} make a decision from there. I don’t plan on leaving in the next couple of years or anything like that. Like I said, I’ve always wanted to be here and that’s still true.”

...till it wasn't.

George and Kawhi say they wanted to be Lakers....till they didn't.

I don't care how the rest of the league plays...more than half these organizations have nothing to show for it. I don't care that AD plays at the 5 for select minutes....as long as he has something to show for it (ie ringS).

Boog's injury wasn't the Pels fault, but the way they went about it was. Boogie and AD made their own wave when the rest of the league was playing small/stretch ball for 20-25mins a game. And they were successful doing it too. Then 2018 free agency happens and the Pels make Boog (and AD) feel a certain way by bringing Jules in as the replacement. So y'all think an undersized, yet bully ball Jullius came to play the 4 (to back up AD) or the 5 (to play next to AD)? How many minutes did Jules avg per game again? Was Mirotic a banger? They brought in an aged Emeka Okafor and a injury riddled Ja too. Move over Dwight, cause the Okafor bros were on a redemption tour of their own.

Grand total in legit center investments after sending Boog packing: 2m for vet min Ja and 10 day contracted Emeka. If you count undersized stretch center options of Mirotic and Jules, that total investment now becomes 22m. And what happened shortly thereafter? AD changes his representation to Klutch.

Boogie was an injury concern heading into this season and McGee played short burst minutes on title teams before he came to LA and played for Luke. That was our center investment before Boog fell.

Even if AD was on a long-term contract, you try to appease him cause then his demands will change (see trade). I'm confident we will re-sign him this coming summer. But then again, alot of us were confident other players meant what they said and that it would come to fruition during the '18 & '19 summers...till it didn't.

#SayWhat?

 

20, even 10 years ago, Davis would be an undersized Center. Just because the guy is this talented and can play center/power forward doesn't mean it is the best decision to leave him as a center. Magic Johnson played center while KAJ was injured. I think we all know why Magic can't play center for an entire season, right?

Davis did not waive the trade kicker for a center. He waived it to help the Lakers surround the team with better pieces, primarily, Kawhi Leonard. Lakers gave up a lot of depth for AD. AD isn't dumb. He wanted to come to the Lakers knowing that if he did, his chances of winning increases if he waives the trade kicker. There's also the marketability factor of the Lakers that comes into play as well (I highly doubt they would have put AD as the cover of NBA 2K if he were playing for the Pelicans.)


17:00th minute mark, AD says he waived it for Kawhi or to help the team have more leverage to negotiate contracts/grab players.
22:00nd minute mark, AD says he prefers the 4 but will play the 5 when needed.

Also, there is a huge difference between demanding and preferring. I prefer to eat steak over ribs. That doesn't mean I wouldn't eat ribs.

 

99% of what you just wrote is babbling junk. What are you ranting about, dude? AD wanted the Lakers for a reason and our GM/coach have already stated he would only play center if we absolutely needed him to. Who are you debating with?

 

Huge difference between saying and doing too.

Anyways, see my other junky posts on the issue. Maybe you'll get a better idea of who and what I'm addressing before you decide to dabble again.