Los Angeles Lakers forward Ed Davis’ has a $1.1 million player option on his contract for next season, which he will likely exercise to see what his value is in the open market. After two years of barely seeing the floor in Memphis, Davis has had quite a productive year in Los Angeles, averaging 8.3 points on 61 percent percent shooting from the field, to go along with 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
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At Friday’s practice, head coach Byron Scott said Davis has done himself “proud” this season, and expects him to be high on the list of free agents the team could go after this summer.
“I think myself and Mitch (Kupchak) are both pretty excited with the way he’s played this year, so he’ll be a guy that’s high on our list,” Scott told LakersNation.com.
On Wednesday, Davis reiterated that he hopes to be a part of the future plans, going as far as to say by this time next year he hopes the Lakers are fighting for a top seed in the NBA playoffs.
General manager Mitch Kupchak explained recently that there’s an order to the priorities this summer. Kupchak said first on that list is the NBA draft and figuring out where their picks lie. Then, they will be looking at current contracts and expiring contracts. From there, the Lakers will line up what their plan will be for the off-season and free agency.
Depending on what Davis’ value is in the free agent market this summer, it’ll be interesting to see what the Lakers are willing to offer him, knowing that maintaining financial flexibility to sign marquee free agents is of primary importance.
[divide]VIDEO: Ed Davis Wants To Be A Part Of Lakers Future