The Official Ed Davis Thread 2014-2015

A number of players in their article below if you click on the bottom link. I copied their take on Ed.




The NBA Groupon Games: Which Players Are the Next Free-Agent Steals?

Ed Davis
Nobody knows better than Boss Davis how the league has moved away from bigs who can’t shoot 3s or protect the rim, to the point that such players are undervalued. He is, now and always, a man without a home. Davis turned down a multiyear contract from Memphis in 2013, per several league sources, only to wind up signing a minimum deal with the Lakers, firing his agent, shooting 61 percent, and prepping for free agency again.

Tristan Thompson will probably earn at least double Davis’s next salary, and nobody will be able to provide a decent explanation as to why. The limitations are obvious: Davis has the skill set of a traditional center, without the heft to hold his position in the post or on the glass against the league’s behemoths. He has zero range, and his free throw shooting has gotten worse for three straight seasons.

His ideal frontcourt mate is a big who can defend post-up threats and shoot 3s — a rare find. But Davis is an absolute killer on the pick-and-roll — the rare speedster with the basketball IQ to slow down at times, shift into an open space, and make himself available for his point guard:






He’s not a great vertical jumper, but the dude can almost fly across the horizontal plane — gliding in for long-armed finishes before the defense can find him:






He’s a clever passer in tight spaces and developed a gorgeous tic-tac-toe chemistry with Amir Johnson in Toronto. Skilled players can make things work within tight spacing, though Davis doesn’t have the sort of low-post game that would make that work a bit easier. Davis doesn’t have sticky hands like Zach Randolph, but he’s not Biyombo, and he cleans up on easy shots around the basket.

It’s scary to watch Davis, a tentative string bean, go up against bullies who go right at his chest with force:






Previous coaches have questioned both his IQ and his motor, a reputation-killing double, and Davis can look strangely nailed to the ground when he’s not giving peak effort. On the flip side, he goes through bouts of happy feet on the perimeter — possessions in which his feet are moving so fast, and so haphazardly, that he can’t change directions on a dime. He’s like Luigi in the criminally underrated Super Mario Bros. 2 for the original Nintendo.

But he’s fast enough to chase shooting power forwards around the 3-point arc, and when he’s engaged, Davis has long enough arms and enough bounce to be an obstacle at the rim.

Davis will get a bump from the minimum this summer, but executives agree he should come in well below the midlevel. He’s a good buy-low candidate — someone who could emerge as a solid third big man and start for a loaded team with the right personnel.


http://grantland.com/the-triangle/t...which-players-are-the-next-free-agent-steals/

 

If he signs somewhere else for less than 5 million, I will be really disappointed in the Lakers. That's a steal, even for a guy limited offensively. Good big to come off the bench at the 4/5.

 

you had me till you typed "l, i, n" on your keyboard/mobile device.

 

SLAM Q&A with Ed

Q+A: Ed Davis (via http://ble.ac/teamstream-) http://teamstre.am/1D5ILAG

 

lol. actually, if both lin and davis could be had on nick young level deals, I'd do it. they're both really good nba backups who are miscast as starters.

 

Stay here Ed, you're the perfect backup 4/5 here and Mitch will make sure you get rewarded for your excellent showing, despite the season.

I'd pick up Ed for $20M/4years

 

I think anything under $6m is fair for him, but since he said money isn't his number one priority we might get a slight discount from him ($4.5m-$6m is what I think his range would be for us). That's a monumental leap from his current salary. Give him a 4 year deal with the 4th being a PO. If he maintains or exceeds his value, he'll be able to get a Jordan Hill payday before he hits the wrong side of 30.

 

Yeah, if we can keep Davis for less than MLE-money, we definitely need to keep him. I'd love to sign a max or near max FA in addition to Middleton, but I'd be happy with Middleton & a cheaper FA if it means keeping Davis for 6M per year or less. As for Lin, if he isn't taking the RE after we sign our impact FA's, not interested.

 

Man, I remember wanting Kurt Thomas for the longest time lol.

Dude was a tank though. If there was one guy who can play straight up post D, on anybody, it was KT.

Money from the set 15 footer too, a real NBA G.