The Los Lakers struggled all season to find any type of a bright spot to lean on. There was the play of one rookie, Jordan Clarkson, who lit up the Los Angeles box score from time to time but outside of that there wasn’t much to note.
One player did play particularly well in his time with the Lakers. The former University of North Carolina standout and 2010 lottery pick of the Toronto Raptors, Ed Davis, had a career year with Los Angeles.
Despite have a good year with LA, it appears Davis is doing the smart thing and test his value on the free agency market this summer.
Following from Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles times.
Forward/center Ed Davis will opt out of the second year of his deal with the Lakers before July, foregoing $1.1 million for a shot at a bigger contract.
“I’m going to test free agency,” Davis told The Times in a telephone interview. “Hopefully I’m back with the Lakers, as long as everything is equal with all the other teams.”
“This is where I want to call home,” said Davis. “The city, the coaching staff, the owners, the [general manager], everything like that — I’m definitely comfortable.”
“I look at Coach [Byron] Scott. He’s always been a straight shooter with me since day one. If he says something, he means it. I think [General Manager] Mitch Kupchak is the same way. They don’t just tell guys things they want to hear, but tell the truth and you know exactly how they feel.”
Scott recently said to the media that Davis was one of the team’s most valuable big men this season. Both Kupchak and Scott have said they’d like to see Davis return.
You can’t blame him for wanting to return and you also can’t blame him for wanting a good contract. Next season he could play a pivotal role on the Lakers coming off their bench and supplementing time for Julius Randle and any other potential big bodied high paid players that come to Los Angeles.
The Lakers signed Davis last summer to a two-year, $2.1-million minimum contract. In 79 games this season, the five-year NBA veteran averaged career highs in scoring at 8.3 points a game, rebounds at 7.6, blocks at 1.2, assists at 1.2 and a 60.1 field goal percentage.
