Report: Ed Davis Expected to Be 'Sought After' in 2019 NBA Free Agency
June 17, 2019
Big man Ed Davis isn't going to move the needle as much as the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant in free agency, but he has reportedly already garnered interest from a number of teams.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Davis will be "a sought-after frontcourt free agent this summer, and several teams are considering him as a multiyear signing."
The North Carolina product played for the Brooklyn Nets in 2018-19 under a one-year contract and averaged 5.8 points and a head-turning 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 61.6 percent from the field as one of the team's primary bench pieces.
Davis entered the league with high expectations when the Toronto Raptors selected him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2010 draft. He has never been able to fully live up to the bar that is set for lottery picks and is yet to average double-digit scoring in a single season while playing for the Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and Nets.
Still, he is the type of depth addition that can help a team fill out its roster and compete for a playoff spot.
He provided solid minutes for a Nets squad that made the postseason for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign and led the team in rebounds per game despite playing just 17.9 minutes a night.
While the rebounding is notable, Davis can also be a solid interior defender with enough length at 6'10" to protect the rim for spurts. According to NBA.com, opponents shot 0.6 percent worse from within six feet of the basket and 0.8 percent worse from within 10 feet than their normal averages when he guarded them.
Adding someone like that to the frontcourt rotation will allow whichever team that signs him the flexibility to rest its primary contributors for stretches without having to worry about the interior play dramatically falling off.