WT: Ed Davis to Decline '16 Option, Wants to Re-sign

[crazyeights]

“I’m hoping for a long-term deal,” said Davis, who has until June 25 before formally deciding his move. “I’d love to return here. I know this will turn around eventually.”

Davis has switched agents from Rob Pelinka to Leon Rose.

“This is definitely my first option,” Davis said. “They’re a team that gave me a look last summer when not too many teams were calling. This is definitely where I want to be at. Hopefully I can stay here for the rest of my career."

Full article here: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150205/lakers-ed-davis-seeking-long-term-security-with-purple-and-gold

Interesting quote at the end there. Common wisdom on this board seems to be he did the Lakers a favor signing for cheap, maybe that's not exactly the case.

Also interesting that he switched from Pelinka to Rose...didn't Wesley Johnson just switch agents too? and Julius?

So, do you want Ed back? How much is he worth?

[Kilroy]

Aahh, that's sweet!..
Bye Ed.

[Slava]

I can see Tarik Black being a better center. He has a lot more fight in him if not the same skill as Ed Davis. However if decide between Jordan Hill & Davis, I'd rather have Davis back. Ideally we go with a good 4 big man rotation if we cannot sign a true center in free agency as such Davis/Black & Randle would be a good start.

[miggs]

Agreed Slava, add in there either Okafor or Towns and I'd be ok with that frontcourt. I think Davis needs more time to continue to develop but I definitely think Black needs more minutes than Davis considering we can probably also lock in Black for much less than Ed. I'm pretty sure at this point, Hill will be traded.

What price would you bring back Ed for?

[Slava]

3/24 would be a good deal.

[miggs]

Nice to see a number on it, he'd come cheaper than Hill and definitely help us more. It'd be sweet to see Davis back, and have that strong frontcourt rotation. It's somewhat off topic but if you do get the top draft pick, you obviously choose Okafor right slava?

[miggs]

I ask because if we want to bring back Davis, we'll have Davis and Black to share the backup frontcourt mins with I'm assuming Randle starting at PF and Okafor/Towns at C right. If that's the case, would our frontcourt be set in stone with our attention in free agency at securing a PG and/or wing players??

[Slava]

Nice to see a number on it, he'd come cheaper than Hill and definitely help us more. It'd be sweet to see Davis back, and have that strong frontcourt rotation. It's somewhat off topic but if you do get the top draft pick, you obviously choose Okafor right slava?

I'm a big fan of D'Angelo Russell and I also like Karl Towns. I'm just a bit scared by all the Al Jefferson comparisons for Okafor. Nothing wrong with a low turnover post behemoth but that's just not my preferred style if the big man can't guard the rim. I'm hoping we transition to a more fast tempo team once Kobe retires.

[Kilroy]

I wouldn't count on him being that much cheaper than Hill. He showed he could start this season on the right team. 3/24 would be great, but I have a feeling he'll leave for more.

[miggs]

My pick even if I had the number one would be Towns, I really dig his game and feel more importantly it does indeed seem to go well with Randle's game. I also was reading an article breaking down how Okafor and Towns are each utilized in their colleges. Calipari's Blue Platoon style of play really holds back how much Towns can put up both in pts, rbs and asts. If he had the ball more I think his numbers would show he's the better prospect but that's just my 2 cents.

I haven't seen any of Russell, I'll have to as on the NCAA thread we got going, I noticed some pushing for him. He's a SG no? It'd be nice to move Kobe to the wing for his final year or two. Not a bad 5, barring any big names from signing here, including Dragic, depending what he's looking for: money, freedom to run the system fulltime, championship contention?

Clarkson
Russell
Bryant
Randle
Black or Davis


If we did indeed get the first pick, who do you guys think the front office would select? I sort of see them drafting either a C or SG to replace Kobe.

[Michael Lucky]

More reason to trade him now, although there was never any doubt that he'd decline the option. The last thing we should be doing is giving more money to the players we already have considering how bad the team already is as it is. At least we can let Hill walk but we shouldn't be in such a haste to use the money for him on another player with similar overall production for the team.

[miggs]

I wouldn't count on him being that much cheaper than Hill. He showed he could start this season on the right team. 3/24 would be great, but I have a feeling he'll leave for more.

I agree he did show he can start, maybe he gives us a better deal if indeed this is where he wants to be. Do you think a contract like 3/30 or 4/32 is more likely?

[miggs]

More reason to trade him now, although there was never any doubt that he'd decline the option. The last thing we should be doing is giving me more money to the players we already have considering how bad the team already is as it is.

Good point Lucky, I can see the front office trading him for a pick but don't think we should keep some of these guys too? After all some of these guys we've put in nearly two seasons worth of minutes into, would be financially prudent to capitalize on guys whom have developed well if it can fit into our plans to spend in free agency.

I think 3/24 as Slava posted, would be ideal. If we do draft someone like Russell (SG) it'd be smarter to re-sign Davis and start him at C alongside Randle and maybe slide kobe to the wing and either sign a PG like Dragic or just keep rolling with Clarkson. I don't think this franchise has any plans to contend next year either, I believe next year is the final year of the front office's plans to turn this franchise around. It's obvious we're gunning for the 2016 free agency, with that fatter cap that's projected due to the tv deals and with Durant out there possibly, I think this summer will be a time to solidify our young core, transition kobe into a lesser role, and look to see if we can land a guy like Marc, Love or Aldridge, all which I think is a heavy long shot.

I'm thinking this summer we'll resign Davis, if we don't trade him now, draft Towns, and focus on getting Dragic locked in here. I think he's our closest bet on big names, I personally always liked him, he's got grit to go with a nice skillset considering he always seems to be sharing the spot with pgs that are either legendary or just as good as he is.

[miggs]

More than likely I can see us trading Hill rather than letting him walk. I'm sure the front office knows they can get a first round pick from a contender needing a big, I'm thinking of OKC specifically but there's also Portland though I'm not sure if they still have their first round pick for this year. At worst maybe we get two 2nd rounders lol

[Kilroy]

I can see something in the 11M per area and maybe 3 years. It sounds like he'd be willing to sacrifice a little money per year for more years though and he's young so maybe 9M+/4yrs would be the home town discount. I don't think we have any bird rights with him, so 4yrs would seem to be the max length and I don't think we want to be at or above 10M for Davis.
I could be wrong though.
I just have a feeling he's more valuable than it seems especially since he's been playing for us on the cheap basically.

[miggs]

You know, I could be wrong, but if I'm not mistaken we do NOT have his bird rights. I agree, i think 3/24 would be ideal with 4/36 being the absolute most. I think he's quite valuable too, I haven't forgotten how Grizz fans went ape **** when they got him back in the Rudy Gay trade. Normally I'd prefer a taller and bigger framed C but its a different nba landscape now and I think Davis fits the mold quite well, and I think he'd work well next to Randle too.

[Michael Lucky]

More reason to trade him now, although there was never any doubt that he'd decline the option. The last thing we should be doing is giving me more money to the players we already have considering how bad the team already is as it is.

Good point Lucky, I can see the front office trading him for a pick but don't think we should keep some of these guys too? After all some of these guys we've put in nearly two seasons worth of minutes into, would be financially prudent to capitalize on guys whom have developed well if it can fit into our plans to spend in free agency.

I think 3/24 as Slava posted, would be ideal. If we do draft someone like Russell (SG) it'd be smarter to re-sign Davis and start him at C alongside Randle and maybe slide kobe to the wing and either sign a PG like Dragic or just keep rolling with Clarkson. I don't think this franchise has any plans to contend next year either, I believe next year is the final year of the front office's plans to turn this franchise around. It's obvious we're gunning for the 2016 free agency, with that fatter cap that's projected due to the tv deals and with Durant out there possibly, I think this summer will be a time to solidify our young core, transition kobe into a lesser role, and look to see if we can land a guy like Marc, Love or Aldridge, all which I think is a heavy long shot.

I'm thinking this summer we'll resign Davis, if we don't trade him now, draft Towns, and focus on getting Dragic locked in here. I think he's our closest bet on big names, I personally always liked him, he's got grit to go with a nice skillset considering he always seems to be sharing the spot with pgs that are either legendary or just as good as he is.

Well here lies another problem, randle. You can't spend money for a position you're looking to develop your young talent at. Not to mention, teams that win championships are usually won by either the Draft and those players developing into star players or by acquiring star players through trade or free agency first, not by giving money first to your role players.

Besides Davis production isn't as hard to replace on the cheap. He's the perfect example of this considering he had always put up decent numbers for the minutes he saw.

[Laker_Kid]

drafting towns then resigning davis alongside randle and black sets our frontcourt for the future. im aboard this one.

sent from my LG-G2 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[miggs]

Randle is never a problem, c'mon bro you're a Lakers fan, we don't say such things about our rook.

I somewhat agree with you, but there's a flaw you may or may not have intended to put out. Resigning Davis would have no issue in Randle's development as when Randle returns, he'll be the starting PF unless we resigned Boozer for some reason to maybe help Randle in some way, although I think Randle should be starting if healthy, period.

I believe in the draft we'll be looking to draft Towns, not only is he another Kentucky product but he'd fit in nicely with Randle. I'm sure Calipari has thought of this by now, no doubt, and I wouldn't doubt if Randle and Towns have somehow spoken because of Calipari as Calipari himself told Randle his best shot for success was with the Lakers, it was a perfect situation for him. I believe Towns will get the same advice from Calipari and I also believe we'll have a high enough pick to get him, I'm fairly sold on Towns because of talent AND fit, which is necessary to build a championship contender.

I'd be pleased with the following squad next year

Dragic/Clarkson
Bryant/Clarkson/Rookie
Young/Kelly
Randle/Davis
Towns/Black

then save what's left for 2016, as this team would be fun to watch, gives the rooks (Randle/Towns) and sophs (Clarkson/Black) enough room to continue developing in their respective roles. I think Randle and Towns could be budding stars by the 2016 free agency, along with Dragic and Kobe along with a max deal may be enough to bring in Durant. By then we just fill in the roster with the youth we got and some vets and we're good IMO.

Dragic/Clarkson
Bryant/Vet/Clarkson
Durant/Young/Kelly
Randle/Davis/Vet
Towns/Black/Vet

[miggs]

The darkhorse for me is Boozer, I don't know if the guy is looking for the biggest payday he can get or the best situation. I think a front court of Randle/Towns with Davis, Black and Boozer is one **** amazing front court for the future. I think if we add Dragic, we could surely entice Durant to come as I think we'd surely be in the playoffs pushed on by Randle/Towns/Kobe/Dragic and our bench mob.