The Los Angeles Lakers introduced the recently signed forward/center, Ed Davis, on Wednesday with a press conference at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo.
Davis was asked about many different things including his impact on the defensive end of the floor. The defense is something the Lakers were sorely lacking last year resulting in arguably the worst season in franchise history, but adding Davis should help bolster the frontcourt.
The North Carolina product believes it all starts with the right mindset on the defensive end of the basketball floor via Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News:
Ed Davis on bolstering team defense: “It starts with the defensive mindset where we’re not going to just try to outscore them”
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 23, 2014
Davis will join Carlos Boozer, Jordan Hill, Julius Randle, Ryan Kelly, and Robert Sacre in the frontcourt next season. Although not a combination of players that scares opponents defensively, this group could prove to be a force to be reckoned with.
Last season, Davis averaged 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 53.4 percent from the floor in 63 games with the Memphis Grizzlies. Davis was traded by the Toronto Raptors to Memphis during the 2012-13 NBA season following an impressive first half of the season in which the former Tar Heel averaged 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Davis signed a two-year deal with the Lakers worth $2 million with a team option in the second year. Many consider this move by the Lakers to be a steal with Davis having a lot of potential at 25-years-old.
As of right now, the consensus seems to be that Davis will share time with Hill and Sacre at the center position. The Lakers have a surplus of forwards on the squad making Davis more valuable at the five-spot even though he’s capable of playing power forward.
