One of the surprise additions for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency this past summer was forward/center Ed Davis. No one expected the Lakers to have much of a chance to sign Davis with what the team was willing to offer, but the 25-year-old chose to put his name on the dotted line regardless.
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Davis said the following about what was the draw to sign with Los Angeles during media day at the team’s practice facility:
“It’s the Lakers, man. It doesn’t getting any bigger than this with the history and legacy. That had a lot to do with it.”
The former North Carolina standout admits there was some uncertainty without a head coach in place in Los Angeles before agreeing to a two-year deal:
“A young team. It was kind of difficult because when I signed there wasn’t a head coach. So I really didn’t know what the style of play was going to be.”
The second year of Davis’ deal with the team is a player option. Davis is set to make $1,063,384 if he chooses to opt in. The deal is similar to what Nick Young signed before last season.
With that being said, Davis has an opportunity to play for a long-term deal with the Lakers if able to prove his worth like Young did last year. Young opted out of his deal this past summer and ended up signing a four-year contract worth $21.5 million.
Davis will compete with Jordan Hill, Carlos Boozer, Ryan Kelly, Robert Sacre and Julius Randle for minutes, but he’ll have his chance to shine with the ability to play both power forward and center. Sacre may end up being third on the depth chart at center if Davis can prove his worth to head coach Byron Scott in preseason or throughout the course of the regular season.
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