/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65625394/1179875067.jpg.0.jpg)
If you had “six games” in the “first time we have to pretend there is a real possibility Anthony Davis will leave the Lakers in free agency” pool, let me just give you kudos for looking at the schedule and remembering that someone would definitely ask him about playing for the Bulls when he returned home to Chicago. Good thinking.
For those of you that are unaware of what I’m referencing, Davis was at an event on Monday in Chicago, where the Lakers will play the Bulls tomorrow, and he was evidently asked about the possibility of playing for his hometown team there one day. Here is what he had to say, as transcribed via video posted by Eric Woodyard of ESPN:
“Obviously there is nothing like playing at home,” Davis said. “I don’t know. I am a free agent next year... We’ll see. It’s a possibility.”
Here’s the video, if you want to watch the moment for yourself:
Lakers star Anthony Davis on possibility of playing for hometown Chicago Bulls in future: “I mean, I am a free agent next year ... but we will see.” pic.twitter.com/Y377w1AlAQ
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) November 5, 2019
And thus, against all odds, we’ve finally reached the first time that everyone is going to freak out about Anthony Davis’ free agency this season while the team is in the middle of a five-game winning streak. That last part was unexpected context for the first time Davis’ free agency would crop up, I definitely thought we’d be doing this during the first losing streak of the year.
But let’s be real. What is more likely: That Davis just didn’t want to insult his hometown by publicly ruling their team out as a possibility he’d even consider? Or that he really a) never had the Bulls on his list of four teams he’d prefer to be dealt to, and then b) had his representatives fight tooth and nail for months to end up on the Lakers just to leave them for the Bulls in free agency. I know which one seems more likely to me, but everyone ultimately has a right to believe what they want.
The thing is, sure, Davis could be completely earnest here, and really be considering the Bulls. Even then, we are still so far away from July that it’s hard for this not to already be exhausting and hard to take seriously, so I’m not going to give it too much thought as a real possibility just yet. I mean, at some point we are either in this to enjoy the basketball, or we’re only following for free agency storylines. Can we go, like, at least 20 games into the season before we start talking about 2020 free agency?
Despite that plea, I know that’s not going to happen. And get ready to do this all again in New York when the Lakers head there on Jan. 22. I’m just warning you in advance, because there are circumstances that are going to lead to Davis getting asked about it again there, and us doing this whole song and dance one more time. And then I’m sure we’ll find an excuse to worry about it even after he re-signs this July, too. That’s just how things go now.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.