Ed Davis On Playing In Portland, Building Future

Nearly halfway through his first season as a Portland Trail Blazer, power forward Ed Davis seems to have found his perfect fit. Davis talks about his new situation in a recent interview with Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy.

Upon his arrival in Portland, Davis said that he wanted this to be the place he stays for the remainder of his career after moving through four teams in his first six NBA seasons. He praised the culture the Blazers have developed and the coaching staff, led by head coach Terry Stotts.

Statement from Davis per Kennedy's article:

"It's been an easy transition for me, especially after bouncing around a little bit in the past," Davis told Basketball Insiders recently. "There are a lot of other guys here who are also in their first year on this team, so that makes it easier too because we're all in the same position. It's a great organization and Coach [Terry] Stotts is probably the coolest coach who I've played for in my whole life. [The transition] has just been so easy."

In comparing Portland to his last stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis appreciates the plan that Portland has in place, a plan that should also be very encouraging for Blazer fans. He says the Blazers are "building something" and uses the word "stability" to describe the process Portland is undertaking.

But it's just different [in Portland]. Obviously in L.A. they want those big stars and they're not really trying to keep a core together. Now they're starting to do it because they aren't getting those top free agents in. Here, there's just stability. You know that guys are going to be around for a while. You don't have the feeling that you could get traded any minute or that they're going to bring a superstar in [to replace you]. You can just focus on doing your job. You know [the plan] and that everything is going to be fine."

Davis has proven to be one of the most valuable reserve big men in the league, ranking among the NBA's best in offensive rebounding percentage (3rd in the NBA, 15 percent) and overall offensive ranking (1st, 126.1). His player efficiency rating, at 18.4, is second on the Blazers only to All-Star point guard Damian Lillard.

Those stats and rankings don't impact Davis though, who would rather talk about the positive camaraderie and culture the team is building.

"It's definitely enjoyable. That's one thing I love about the NBA: all of the relationships you build," Davis said. "There are some veterans like Chris Kaman, for example, who can tell us stories and talk about things that he has been through. But we do have a lot of young guys and all of us are hungry. We all still have stuff to prove and we're all in that 23-to-27 age range. Hopefully we can keep this thing together for a long time."

Ultimately, Davis is exactly the kind of player championship caliber teams need. He is selfless, committed to the development process and willing to do the little things. He contributes to a winning culture and wants to be around for the long haul.

"I've never really cared about getting credit or being famous or anything, I just wanted to do my job," Davis said. "I do like to prove others wrong, but I don't care about the fame or Twitter followers or whatever it may be. I just play hard and try to help my team win. If I get noticed for it, great. If not, I'm not losing any sleep over it. I get paid well, I love my job and I love the situation I'm in, so I can't complain about anything."

Davis and Kennedy touch on a few other topics, including the Blazers exceeding expectations so far in 2016 and Davis' support of Lillard as the team leader.

Read the whole article here.

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