Like many of the NBA's role players, Utah Jazz center Ed Davis is feeling the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic, losing approximately $30,000 of his $5-million salary for the 2019-20 season every two weeks.
Davis has always supported the Black Lives Matter movement, and he believes suiting up for the NBA's restart will help close the generational wealth gap between the white and black communities.
"It's easy for a guy like Kyrie (Irving) to say that he'll give everything back (for social reform), but would he really give everything back?" Davis told HoopsHype's Alex Kennedy. "It's easy for Dwight Howard to say that we don't need to play when he's in Atlanta in his $20-million mansion.
"But there are other guys on the rosters who need this money to provide for whoever they're taking care of and things like that."
In addition to his family, Davis says he's looking out for the league's future. If the NBA doesn't return this season, the league can enact the force majeure clause, which would scrap the current collective bargaining agreement and potentially lead to a lockout in 2020-21.
"If we don't play, I honestly think there's a chance that we won't play next year. ... It's just something I feel that we have to do to save the league and for all the people who came behind us and all the people who are going to come after us," Davis said.
"This is coming from a 10-year vet; I'm on the back end of my career and I've made enough money, so it's not really about the money," he continued. "It's more about the future guys - a guy like Donovan Mitchell, who is looking at a $160-million contract, but he might only get $90 million if the cap drops."
