5. How did Portland ever decide to let Davis walk?
He’s not going to go to the All-Star Game. Unless something happens to Jarrett Allen, he’s not likely to even be in the starting five for the Brooklyn Nets.
But he’s on his way to becoming one of the most important and impactful free-agent signings of the 2018 offseason.
Raptors Rapture
After three years with the Portland Trail Blazers, Davis signed a one-year, $4.49 million deal — the biannual exception the Nets had available — to come to Brooklyn.
Center play was a problem for the Nets last season after the team traded away Brook Lopez in the deal to get D’Angelo Russell during the 2017 draft.
They started last season with Timofey Mozgov — the other piece that came from the Los Angeles Lakers with Russell — as the starter at center. Then Tyler Zeller took over, until he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. At that point, Brooklyn turned to its first-round pick, Jarrett Allen.
Backing up Allen was a veritable cast of thousands, most of whom players who should never have been put at the center position. There was a bit of Jahlil Okafor, the only other true center available with Mozgov chained to the bench.
Then there were wings and small ball 4s such as Dante Cunningham and Quincy Acy trying their hand at the position. Between Allen’s youth and the backups’ lack of size, the Nets got killed on the glass … often.
Davis changes that. He provides the Nets with one of the best backup centers available, a player with more rebounds as a reserve player than anyone else in the NBA since he came into the league in 2010.
Friday night, Davis only played 14 rebounds and posted 10 rebounds. He had seven in 18 minutes on opening night.
(SMALL SAMPLE SIZE ALERT!)
Davis is rebounding at a rate of 19.1 per 36 minutes through his first two games as a Net. His career rate per 36 is 11.4 and he was at a career-high 14.1 last season in Portland.
Ed Davis, professional rebounder. Brooklyn had a need and man, alive, does Davis fit the bill.