"You missing more games than LeBron" - Stephen A. Smith rips Anthony Davis for requesting help after signing $186,000,000 deal with Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers agreed a three-year, $186 million contract extension with Anthony Davis over the summer, with his new deal running till the end of the 2027-28 season.

While securing AD with the highest AAV(Average Annual Value) contract in NBA history, Stephen A. Smith blasted him for asking for help at the five position after securing the lucrative deal.

Speaking on his own podcast "The Stephen A. Smith Show", he said:

"Do you all know that this dude Anthony Davis who is a superstar when healthy and plays his A-game just signed a 3-year, $186 million dollar deal-- after he got the d*** money, he's gonna sit up there and tell the Lakers he needs help at the five position. See this is the b****** now," said Stephen A. Smith in his own podcast.

Since being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers back in the summer of 2019, Davis was at his healthiest in his first year with the team. As a result, the Lakers were able to win the NBA championship inside the Orlando bubble.

After that, he missed more than half of the season in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns and played only a combined 78 games, out of a combined 154 games across two seasons. Last season was his healthiest since his first year, playing 56 games and the Lakers made it to the NBA Western Conference Finals.

This summer, the Lakers were able to add two more big men with Jaxson Hayes coming in and the more recent one was Christian Wood on a bargain deal of two years, $5.7 million.

When Davis was paired with LeBron James, it was foreseen that the former Kentucky Wildcat could help extend the career of LeBron James and not the other way around, according to Smith.

"This is what drives me crazy. I love Anthony Davis as a person and I love him as a player when he is on his A-game. But it is an absolute travesty that this man could find himself in worse shape than LeBron James," said Smith.

He continued:

"You are supposed to be helping LeBron James, relieving him, letting him know that approaching his 21st season he ain't got nothing to worry about because you got it.

"Instead, he got to act like he's in his 10th year in the league. Not just with his game but physically cause you ain't available at the d*** time. You missed more games than LeBron."

WATCH: Stephen A. Smith talks about Anthony Davis and Christian Wood signing

Stephen A. Smith takes a swipe at Lakers signing Christian Wood to pair with Anthony Davis

Despite enjoying a solid season at the center, Anthony Davis has previously expressed his preference to play as a power forward. In his 2019 Lakers introductory press conference, he said:

"I like playing the four, I'm not even going to sugarcoat it. I like playing the four, I don't really like playing the five. But if it comes down to it, Coach, and you need me to play the five, I'll play the five"

With Davis' request for help at "the five", the Lakers have turned to Christian Wood to come in and be a huge piece in the big-man rotation.

However, Stephen A. Smith dors not consider Wood a signing that would fit with Davis. He said:

"Chrisitan Wood ain't no big man, he is a tall man. He's not big. He's tall," said Smith.

In the 2022-23 season, Christian Wood played 67 regular season games with the Dallas Mavericks and provided 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 blocks per game.