Ed Davis Appreciates Portland And Desires Stability For Future

Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune spoke with Trail Blazers power forward Ed Davis and a few of his teammates about what Davis brings to the team. The consensus was overwhelmingly positive. Davis stands out as the Blazers’ most fruitful acquisition of the 2015 offseason, leaving everything on the court night in and night out. In an excerpt from the article, head coach Terry Stotts had this to say:

"Ed knows his game," Stotts says. "He is very efficient. He does what he does best — plays every possession at both ends. He is a great teammate. He does all the things you want from him."

"I don’t know if there was a true gauge of Ed because of his circumstances in Toronto, Memphis and the Lakers, but I always thought he was a quality big man. Maybe he has played better than people expected, but he’s doing what he has shown he can do."

Eggers added:

Consider this: Davis leads the NBA in individual offensive rating — an estimate of points produced (players) or scored (team) per 100 possessions — at 127.4. Behind him are Golden State’s Stephen Curry (126.2) and Andre Iguodala (123.7) and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant (123.4).

Eggers also noted that Davis has never had a stable NBA environment in which to thrive; a sentiment echoed by Davis in his hopes to be a long-term Trail Blazer.

Yet Davis — a soft-spoken, easy-going young man with a ready smile — has never found a home in the NBA. He is on his fourth team and has never stayed with one team more than two seasons. Stotts is his sixth coach in his six years in the league.

"That’s crazy, man," says Davis, shaking his head. He counts them down, beginning with Stotts’ right-hand man, Jay Triano, who was his first coach as a rookie with Toronto in 2010-11.

"I had Jay and Dwane Casey in Toronto, Lionel Hollins and Dave Joerger in Miami, Byron Scott last year (with the Lakers) and now Terry," Davis says. "I’ve bounced around a little bit, but coaches, they bounce around, too. My first year at Memphis, we made it to the conference finals, and the next year, we had a new coach. It’s a crazy business."

Have the coaching changes made it difficult for Davis?

"A little," he says. "I have a different game than the prototypical power forward today. Once a coach gets used to me and starts to play me more and I start to feel more comfortable, he’s gone.

"Hopefully, I’m here for a long time. I think Coach (Stotts) is going to be here for a while. This will be my last coach, hopefully."

Eggers’ full article can be read here, including details into Davis’ past and his plans for the future. Ever wondered what makes Ed tick?

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