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Anthony Davis has officially been selected to the 2018 All-NBA First Team. A day after both he and Jrue Holiday were awarded the 2018 All-Defensive First Team honors, Davis was bestowed an All-NBA First Team selection for the third time in his six-year career.
Other 2018 All-NBA First Team recipients include LeBron James, James Harden, Damian Lillard and Kevin Durant.
While it’s great to see Davis properly accoladed for a season in which he led the 48-34 New Orleans Pelicans to the second round of the playoffs and averaged 28.1 points, 11.1 rebounds 2.3 assists, 1.5 steals and a league-leading 2.6 blocks, there’s greater significance to today’s award — he is now eligible to sign a Designated Players Veteran Extension (DPVE) in the summer of 2019!
Players who have completed three seasons of a four- or five-year deal are eligible for renegotiation. So in the summer of 2019, Davis will be eligible and the DPVE will be on the table if he makes another All-NBA team in the next two seasons, wins two of the next three DPOY or takes home one of the next three MVP trophies.
Why would Davis sign a contract extension whereby tying himself to New Orleans for potentially another four seasons? It’s all about the Benjamins!
In 2020-21, AD is currently scheduled to earn over $28 million. If he qualifies for the DPVE a year or two from now, it would trigger a potential maximum of 35% of the salary cap. He could be looking at a five-year extension that would net him over $42 million (based on a $120 million salary cap) for 2020-21 instead!
If you may remember, Davis missed an opportunity for maximum earnings two years ago because he was not selected to an All-NBA team in 2016. He had to settle for a 5-year $127 million contract because he failed to qualify for the Rose Rule, costing him an additional $24 million since he wasn’t eligible for a contract consisting of 30% of the salary cap.
The biggest benefit in Davis receiving the richest possible contract with the New Orleans Pelicans should be obvious. Since no other team in the league can offer him a DPV extension that allows a player to receive a contract worth 35% of the salary cap, the Pelicans odds of retaining Davis beyond the length of his current deal have greatly improved. As long as New Orleans can continue to rack up playoff appearances, why would Anthony Davis choose to play somewhere else for significantly less money???