Bringing Back Ed Davis Next Season Is an Easy Decision for Los Angeles Lakers
There’s nothing particularly fancy about Ed Davis’s game, but bringing the 25-year-old big man back next season in free agency should be the easiest decision the Los Angeles Lakers have to make this offseason.
The North Carolina product has been the epitome of a low-risk, high-reward player since being signed as a free agent last summer. The investment was minimal—just $981,084 for this season, with a player’s option of $1,100,602 for 2015-16—an option he's already said he'll decline, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Those numbers are rock bottom, especially considering that Davis turned down a reported $20 million contract extension from the Memphis Grizzlies last season.
The Lakers’ small wager has paid off—for now. During a gloomy season that currently stands at 13-40, Davis has been a consistent bright spot regardless of the game's outcome.
But now, looking forward, management needs to up the ante.
Per Medina, Davis plans to opt out of his contract at the end of the season but only for one reason.
“I’m hoping for a long-term deal,” said Davis. “I’d love to return here. I know this will turn around eventually.”
And if there was any doubt as to the fifth-year player’s sincerity, he likely dispelled it by adding: “This is definitely my first option. They’re a team that gave me a look last summer when not too many teams were calling…Hopefully I can stay here for the rest of my career.”
Lakers coach Byron Scott seems on board with Davis, saying per Medina: “He plays hard and he knows his role. He does so many things to make himself better and to make us better.”
Now, the question becomes, what will it cost to keep him in L.A.?
The son of former NBA frontcourt journeyman Terry Davis, Ed was a member of the same 2009 North Carolina championship team as his current teammate Wayne Ellington. Davis declared for the draft after his sophomore year and was selected as the 13th overall pick by the Toronto Raptors. The big man also shares a Chapel Hill history with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.
In fact, Davis chose No. 21 with the Lakers—Kupchak’s old Tar Heel number. To be fair, Davis’s first choice was No. 32, which he wore from North Carolina through two NBA teams. But that number hangs in the Staples Center rafters—belonging to a man with a statue outside the Staples Center, the legendary Magic Johnson.
The left-handed combo center/power forward doesn’t have remarkable size at 6’10” and 240 pounds. But he plays without fear or hesitation, protecting the rim, setting hard picks, snagging rebounds and scoring in the most elemental of ways—through putbacks and explosive dunks. He regularly does the dirty work most guys are afraid of or unwilling to do. He knows his role.
And whether starting for 24 games so far this season or coming off the bench for the other 29, Davis has delivered the same steady effort. He’s averaging eight points, 7.3 boards, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 assists in 24 minutes per game. He also has a strong 58 percent field-goal percentage and by far the highest win-share rating on the team at 4.1 per game (the second highest is Carlos Boozer at 2.1).
| Role | MPG | RPG | BPG | PPG |
| Starter | 26.1 | 6.8 | 1.1 | 8.8 |
| Bench | 22.0 | 7.8 | 1.3 | 7.4 |
In other words, Davis has been Mr. Dependable on a team that is anything but that.
He has also had some eye-opening efforts along the way, including a recent game where he logged a career-high 20 rebounds in an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 4.
One of the Lakers’ obvious challenges is rebuilding a competitive team in the aftermath of their recent championship era. The lone holdover from better days is Kobe Bryant, who will be due $25 million for next season—the last year on his current contract and likely his last in the NBA.
Other than that, Los Angeles doesn’t have a lot of money on the books, having primarily invested in short-term deals, developing players and reclamation projects. The most expensive potential contract for next season is the $9 million team option on frontcourt starter Jordan Hill.
The Lakers will have room for one max contract if they bring Hill back and even more cash to spend if they don’t.
But with a slew of their own free agents to deal with and a roster to build, the offseason will be a complicated puzzle to solve.
And while Davis may seem like one of the easiest decisions to make, the Lakers have to try and preserve the flexibility to go after elite free agents before signing bread-and-butter role players.
Even committing a relatively modest bump in salary to Davis could hinder the Lakers’ ability to make a top-dollar offer to one of the elite stars of this summer’s free-agency class.
Unless, that is, the front office either moves Hill in a trade before then or declines to pick up his contract option.
And while the Lakers debate what to do, other teams will be in play—there can be little doubt that Davis will attract more attention this summer than last.
But after playing for six different coaches in just five seasons, the still-young prospect seems to have found a fit he likes, saying (per Medina): “I like the people in this organization…I hope I can call this home.”
Now it’s up to the organization that Davis likes to make the math work.
The decision to keep a guy that is this motivated, hungry, humble and dependable should be one of its easiest calls to make.
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