Ed Davis Continues to Shine For Los Angeles Lakers

When Ed Davis was an unrestricted free agent last summer, his first priority was finding a team that would allow him ample playing time to showcase his talent. The two previous seasons he had played behind Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph in Memphis, which meant he was only in the rotation 15 minutes a night. He turned 25 last summer, which is the critical age when an NBA player earns a long-term contract or is relegated to a career of scrambling after each season to find a roster spot for the next year. Davis figured the Lakers, with its modest front court talent, afforded him the best opportunity to play big minutes every night and in so doing secure his NBA future.

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The problem was, the Lakers, who are the richest and most profitable team in the league, had no more money to pay for good players. In what can only be described as poor decision-making, the team had already committed $23,500,000 to Kobe Bryant for the season, more than $14,000,000 to Jeremy Lin (of which $8.3 million counted towards the salary cap), more than $9,000,000 each for Steve Nash and Jordan Hill, and $5,000,000 for Nick Young. There was no more money to go around so Davis signed for the player’s minimum, which shocked most NBA observers who knew he was worth more.

Davis was right and he was wrong. He is playing more minutes than he did in Memphis. However, he should be starting and averaging 35 minutes a night, which is the number of minutes the best players on most teams play. If he did, his statistics would most likely be outstanding. Instead, he is averaging 24 minutes a night, which is about what he was playing his first three seasons after he was drafted by Toronto in 2010. Make no mistake about it, he is one of the best, if not the best, players on the Lakers right now. Despite playing for a team that is poorly coached, has a different rotation nearly every game, and cannot score or defend, Davis has had a solid season.

In fact, Davis has been dominant at times. Against Brooklyn this past weekend he scored 16 points on 8 for 10 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds, all in a mere 28 minutes of playing time. In one recent game he grabbed 20 rebounds. He has been very impressive all season blocking shots – a talent he first developed in high school – and he is the only Laker defender who consistently alters shots in the paint. He does all this while playing second string (and second fiddle) to – get this — Robert Sacre! If anyone needs evidence that the Lakers are trying to lose, look no further than the fact that not only has Sacre been starting over Davis, on most nights plays more minutes.

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Davis has a blue chip pedigree. He attended high school in Virginia where he led his basketball team to two consecutive state championships in his junior and senior seasons. In his senior year he averaged 22 points, 14 rebounds, and an astounding 7 blocked shots per game. He was chosen the state’s best prep basketball player and Rivals.com ranked him the 15^th best high school player in the nation.

He committed to play college ball at North Carolina. He had a good freshman season, and then he did something unusual which might have provided an early glimpse of Davis’s wisdom and maturity – despite his obvious talent, he thought he needed more preparation for the NBA so he elected to return to school for his sophomore year. He was averaging 13.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game when he broke his wrist midway through the season in a game against Duke, which ended his college career. In the 2010 NBA draft, Davis was chosen with the 13^th selection in the first round by Toronto.

Before joining the Lakers, Davis had been labeled an “underachiever.” That is a tag placed on high draft choices who don’t immediately set the NBA on fire in their rookie season. Watching Davis play this season, one has a strong sense that he is a late bloomer who is going to get better and better. As the season marches on towards oblivion for the Lakers, Davis plays hard every night and seems to be getting stronger. It would be very interesting to see what would happen if Davis started and played the minutes he deserves. Byron Scott may change the rotation again, but if the Lakers are trying to lose, as most believe, inserting Davis into the starting line-up and playing him 30 plus minutes a night might undermine the mysterious “Laker strategy” we keep hearing about.

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There are areas where Davis can improve. However, if Davis works hard this summer on his free throws and develops a mid-range shot like Jordan Hill did this past off-season, he could become a really formidable player. Aside from his skills on the court, in postgame interviews he always speaks softly and with dignity, and he always says the same thing: He is happy for whatever minutes he is given and whenever called upon he will always play hard and give maximum effort.

Ed Davis is someone you want on your team. He is appreciative for the opportunity the Lakers have given him and has said he would like to return to the team next season. Before getting too excited, one must remember that at this time last year Jodie Meeks and Jordan Farmar were saying the same thing, and we know how that turned out (we ended up with Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington instead). The Lakers are likely to pursue the same strategy this summer, where they delay making commitments to any current players for fear of reducing precious cap space they could use to sign big name free agents (assuming any stars want to play for the Lakers right now, which is unlikely).

By the time the Lakers pay attention to Davis this summer, he will probably be gone. The Lakers will fumble their way through free agency while Davis is aggressively pursued by other teams. He will probably feel compelled to opt for the security of a long term deal with another team rather than wait to see if the Lakers want him at all, and if so, on what terms.

Even if this turns out to be his only season with the Lakers, for the next two months we can enjoy watching Davis finish a monster dunk at the rim or make a spectacular block, which he does nearly every game. It is some small consolation to Laker fans in the midst of the worst season in team history.

Next: Why L.A. is Still a Preferred Destination