JaVale McGee has sold his house in Los Angeles

JaVale McGee is leaving Los Angeles, or at least a small part of the Los Angeles County. According a report by Jack Fleming of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers center has sold his home in Encino, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley:

It’s been a great month for JaVale McGee. Just a few days after winning an NBA championship with the Lakers, the big man has sold his Encino home of five years for $2.49 million.

He’ll walk away with a profit of about $70,000 compared with 2015, when he bought the Mediterranean-style retreat from Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Marc Anthony for $2.42 million.

Does that mean McGee is a goner this offseason? Not at all. In April, Davis put his home in Westlake Village up for sale and all signs point to him re-signing with the Lakers in free agency. That being said, McGee’s future in Los Angeles is far less certain than Davis’s.

For starters, McGee has a player option worth $4.2 million that he can decline to enter unrestricted free agency. Now, given how cash-strapped teams around the league will be this offseason and the scarce market for more traditional big men like McGee, it’s safe to assume that McGee will opt into his contract.

However, even if McGee opts into his contract, there’s a real possibility that he won’t be on the team next season. Not only are the Lakers reportedly looking to sign Howard to a new contract in free agency, but they will probably take another flyer on DeMarcus Cousins, who Anthony Davis FaceTimed after the Lakers won Game 6 of the NBA Finals earlier this month. The Lakers like to play big, but there’s no reason for them to have three centers on the roster.

For that reason, it wouldn’t be that surprising to see McGee traded this offseason. McGee alone likely wouldn’t fetch the Lakers much in a trade, but his $4.2 million salary could be used to facilitate a larger trade.

McGee averaged 6.6 points, 5.5 rebound and 1.4 blocks per game in 68 appearances for the Lakers in the regular season.

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