New Nets forward Ed Davis sees playoffs as possible
Trail Blazers forward Ed Davis, front, looks to pass the ball as Nuggets forward Trey Lyles defends in the first half on Jan. 22, 2018, in Denver. Credit: AP / David Zalubowski
Ed Davis believes that the Nets could be the Indiana Pacers of next season, a team that comes out of nowhere and sneaks into the playoffs.
“I think so. One hundred percent,” Davis said Tuesday on a conference call when asked if he thought his new team had a chance to make it to the postseason. “I feel like in the NBA every year there are always a couple of teams that surprise, that are picked to finish at the bottom and somehow, some way get a fourth of fifth seed . . . In my mind we’re going to make the playoffs and I think everyone else on the roster has the same mindset.”
Davis, a 6-10 forward who spent the last three seasons in Portland, signed a one-year, $4.4-million deal with the Nets on Monday. They reportedly had agreed to a deal on the first day of free agency. Davis was impressed with how strongly the Nets recruited him and he had heard good things about the organization from former teammates Jeremy Lin and Allen Crabbe.
“The main thing is they definitely came out aggressive when July 1 hit,” Davis said. “I definitely wanted to go somewhere I was wanted, so that had a lot to do with it . . . I think this team has potential.”
Davis was the league’s top rebounder off the bench last season when he averaged 5.3 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 58.2 percent from the field in 18.9 minutes per game.
Davis is going from a 49-win playoff team in Portland to a team that won 28 games last season in Brooklyn. Still, he believes he can play a critical role with the Nets by being a mentor to younger players such as 20-year-old Jarrett Allen. At 29, Davis is the third-oldest player on the team.
The Nets also announced Tuesday that they had re-signed guard/forward Joe Harris. Last year, Harris averaged 10.8 points while shooting 41.9 percent from three-point range.
