After being unable to land Carmelo Anthony, the Los Angeles Lakers have moved forward with Plan B by re-signing Nick Young and Jordan Hill and trading for Jeremy Lin. On Wednesday, the team added another piece to next year’s roster by signing Ed Davis according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski:
Free agent forward Ed Davis has reached agreement on a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, league source tells Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 17, 2014
Davis is an excellent addition for the Lakers as the team was in dire need of someone else on the front line. A former lottery pick of the Toronto Raptors in 2010, Davis was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013 and struggled to get consistent minutes behind Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
Davis’ two-year deal is for only $2 million, and a second-year is a player option giving Davis the ability to opt-out of his contract if he plays well, much like Nick Young did this summer.
While his numbers don’t jump off the page, Davis has produced when given consistent minutes and he will likely get that opportunity with the Lakers. A high-upside, athletic rim protector is exactly what the Lakers needed and the team is finally putting their roster together.
With Davis now in the fold, the Lakers are putting together an interesting mix of players, and look to be an improved roster over last season. Adding Davis and Lin in free agency, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson in the draft, plus the return of Kobe Bryant, and suddenly the Lakers look pretty intriguing.
No one will confuse this roster with a championship contender, but the pieces are there for a nice improvement over last year.
