New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis signed a maximum five-year, $145 million extension last summer. As part of the CBA, Davis was eligible for the "Rose Rule" to earn that much. Here's a description of the Rose Rule via Larry Coon's CBA FAQ. To earn the 30 percent max raise structure:
A first round draft pick who completed all four years of his rookie scale contract, or a second round draft pick or an undrafted player who has four years of service, is eligible to receive a higher maximum salary if he meets certain criteria, called the "5th Year 30% Max" criteria:
Named to the All-NBA First, Second or Third team at least twice
Voted as a starter in the All-Star game at least twice
Named the NBA Most Valuable Player at least once
Source: NBA Salary Cap FAQ.
This seemed like a lock for Davis when he signed the deal. He was coming off a selection as an All-Star starter and a first-team All-NBA selection. He was the league's rising star, and some even picked him for MVP this season.
Instead, with the Pelicans featuring one of the worst defenses in the league and the Pelicans in the gutter at 15-27, Davis failed to secure a starting spot with the Western Conference All-Stars. Not only that, but Davis finished with just over 400,000 votes, behind Tim Duncan and even Oklahoma City bench big Enes Kanter.
So just how much would Davis be at risk of losing if he were to fail to make the All-NBA team?
With no All-Star start Anthony Davis will now need to garnish All-NBA honors. $23m difference if Davis misses out being selected.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 22, 2016
That seems like a lot of money. It still seems likely that Davis could earn first-, second-, or third-team honors. It's hard to imagine him not being selected as one of the six best forwards in the league. However, when you consider LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green and Paul George are locks, the last spot may come down to Blake Griffin, who played at an All-NBA level before being injured, and Carmelo Anthony, who has six All-NBA selections to his credit, if things get very tight.
(There's always the possibility the voters incorrectly award him a spot at center).
Davis is going to have to have an absolutely monster second half of the season in order to secure that All-NBA spot. He has 23 million (!) reasons to do so.
