The most important move for the Los Angeles Lakers to make this 2020 offseason was always going to be keeping Anthony Davis in a purple-and-gold uniform. That seemed like a certainty throughout the entire 2020 calendar year (and continues to seem like a given), but what about the rest of the Lakers’ roster? Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee, and Avery Bradley all came into the offseason with player options for the 2020-21 season, and it’s seeming like almost all of them will be declining their option as it is now being reported (by Chris Haynes/Yahoo Sports) that Bradley will decline his player option to test free agency.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Avery Bradley is declining his $5 million player option for the 2020-21 season and hitting free agency, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 19, 2020
It was previously reported that Bradley would have suitors in the Golden State Warriors, the Milwaukee Bucks, as well as other contenders.
Avery Bradley’s first season with the Lakers seems like it’ll be the last one as he ventures into free agency. The 10-year veteran averaged 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.9 steals per game for L.A. He was having arguably his best offensive and defensive stretch of the 2019-20 season in March, right before the season was suspended due to COVID-19. He never played another game for the Lakers, as he opted-out of returning for the Orlando bubble due to health concerns related to his family members. The Lakers definitely would have welcomed Bradley back at his player option of $5.0 million, but they will probably have to pass up on signing him to a deal larger than that as Rob Pelinka has to build out the rest of the roster with a limited amount of cap space remaining due to the contracts belonging to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Dennis Schroder, and others.
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