Ex-Lakers Star Hints LeBron James and Anthony Davis Hopelessness After Rejecting $6 Million to Play with Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Los Angeles Lakers were on a downfall last year at the beginning of the season. However, they flipped their fate and rock climbed from the bottom of the Western Conference rankings all the way to the Play-In tournament. This was all thanks to the trades that made their attacking more lethal. Just before the deadline, the City of Angels acquired D’Angelo Russel and Malik Beasley. However, as Beasley struggled with his performance and was not able to fit in with the team, he got only limited time on the court and eventually was traded off.

While the Lakers did offer him a $6 million contract, he rejected the offer. He ended up with the Milwaukee Bucks, playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.

So, in an interview with the NBA insider Chris Haynes, he revealed some information about why he did not sign an extension with the Lakers. He said that after the Lakers declined his player option, he ended up being a free agent and it was very tough for him. The reason it was a difficult situation for him was because he was clueless about the deal he wanted and didn’t have a fixed team in mind that he wanted to join.

So he went on to give the negatives of the free agency and why did not sign with the Lakers, “A lot of people don’t base it off of what you did the last couple years overall, they kind of go off your last couple games or whatever the case may be. I wasn’t in the best position with leverage team-wise. So the Lakers wanted to re-sign me but on a smaller deal for about $6 million.” 

He further revealed that if he had stayed with the Lakers, he would’ve ended up getting a better deal. But in the midst of that, he got poached by different clubs who persuaded him to join their squad.

Why did Beasley not want to play with LeBron & Co. anymore?

As Beasley was thinking about the Lakers’ offer, he received an offer from the Dallas Mavericks. Even they had offered him a similar deal of $3-6 million. But as they already had a lot of primary ball-handlers and shooters in their squad, Beasley “scoped it out,” and did not sign with the Mavs. And as for the Lakers, he said that he had to be smart about signing with them because they were signing a lot of rookies due to which his role and playing time would be compromised.

So, while being confused about what to do, another team persuaded him to sign with them, which was the Milwaukee Bucks. In Milwaukee, he saw an attractive opportunity to start, compete for a title, and have a different experience for him than his prior stays. He said, “Most of the teams I’ve been on, besides LeBron and AD, they’ve been young. Minnesota, Utah, all of them being young. So I’m the vet on the team, you know what I’m saying?”

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So, ever since Beasley left the Lakers, he was able to make a major impact on the Bucks. He has established himself as a consistent three-point threat, shooting 46.9% from beyond the arc on 6.3 attempts. So, while Beasley continues to succeed in Milwaukee, the Lakers are left to deal with the repercussions of not keeping a player who has shown to be an invaluable asset for tackling their immediate need for perimeter scoring.

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