GRIT PERSONALITY
Nets ‘big fans’ of Davis’ much-needed toughness
LAS VEGAS — To a man, the Nets are nice guys — sometimes too nice on the court.
They got bullied inside all too often last season and were in desperate need of an enforcer in the paint and strength on the glass. In desperate need of somebody like Ed Davis.
Davis brought those traits to the Trail Blazers, and the Nets are counting on him to bring them to Brooklyn after filling a need with one of the NBA’s better backup centers for a bargain oneyear, $4.4 million deal.
“We’ve been big fans of Ed Davis for quite some time,” general manager Sean Marks said. “What Ed brings to Brooklyn and Ed brings to the Nets is certainly a culture fit, the way he works. Some of the intangibles he brings off the court that people don’t necessarily see or aren’t spoken about — what he does in the locker room — when you’re trying to create a culture, that’s really important.
“When you’re trying to create a toughness, a grit, Ed brings all that. And of course on top of all that is his play. We need an enforcer type, we need toughness and Ed brings a lot of that to our group. He’s been around winning organizations, so for him to come in and bring some of that expertise and experience will be great for our group our young guys.”
With spindly teen rookie Jarrett Allen and undersized 6-foot-7, 214-pound Rondae Hollis-Jefferson starting at center and power forward, respectively, the Nets surrendered the fourth-most points in the paint, and were sixth-worst in both Defensive Rating and rebound percentage.
Davis — the only free-agent signing by the Nets so far — may help that.
“I like Ed Davis a lot,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “That’s my guy off the court, so I’m glad we added him to the puzzle, the equation. Just having him, adding his athletic ability, his strength, his rebounding, just that whole approach, his mentality to the game to be aggressive, to get up and down. That’s how we want to play. So just having him there, being able to do that is a big help to us.”
As happy as the Nets are to get him, the Trail Blazers’ players were that upset over losing him.
A glue guy in their locker room and a player who did the dirty work, Davis was popular in Portland.
But after a humbling playoff sweep at the hands of the DeMarcus Cousins-less Pelican — where the Trail Blazers’ lack of floor spacing cost them — Portland decided to go in another direction and advised Davis to take the Nets’ offer.
“We loved Ed,” Portland’s president of basketball operations Neil Olshey told the media. “I was on the phone with Ed and his agent the minute the bell went off, talking to him when he was offered by Brooklyn to see if that was going to be the best deal for him and his family this offseason, knowing where the big-man market was going.
“I counseled him to take that job. And I think if you asked Ed today, the counsel was pretty good. So, I get people missing Ed. No one will miss him more than [coach] Terry [Stotts] and I and the guys around here.”
Davis’ 103.9 Defensive Rating would’ve led the Nets.
His 27.4 rebound percentage topped all players in the postseason and his 21.4 was seventh-best in the regular-season.
It’s no wonder Trail Blazers star C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard expressed displeasure. Lillard tweeted a broken-heart emoji.
“I loved Ed,” Lillard told media at summer league. “One of my best friends in the league [and] favorite teammates I’ve played with. To lose him, that’s a loss for our team.”
And a gain for the Nets.