National Basketball Association

Trail Blazers: When Will Ed Davis Get the Respect He Deserves?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Will Ed Davis have a bigger role for the Trail Blazers in 2016-2017?

Every team needs a player who is willing to do the dirty work. Someone who is willing to do the things that don’t always translate to the box score. For the Trail Blazers that role is currently being filled by Ed Davis. Throughout his seven year career he has struggled to find a home – despite putting up fairly consistent numbers.

The Trail Blazers have made it a point to improve their interior defense, but Davis’ role in that process isn’t crystal clear. Al-Farouq Aminu is set to move to the power forward spot, Mason Plumlee appears to have the starting center spot locked down, and Festus Ezeli (if healthy) should eat up a healthy amount of reserve minutes.

Neil Olshey’s has a reputation for building successful rosters, so his focus on building a stable of versatile post players is obvious. Outside of the three players mentioned above, Meyers Leonard and Noah Vonleh will require some court-time to continue their development. A minutes crunch is on the horizon, which could leave Davis on the outside looking in. Betting against the journeyman center could be costly mistake though.

The Trail Blazers’ jump in expectations should result in a shift in their motives, which means that development could take a slight backseat to production. Vonleh and Leonard may have higher ceilings, but right now Davis is the best reserve post player, and he deserves more playing time. If Davis doesn’t find his way on the court more often next year we should start calling him under–appreciat-ED.

To give Davis a bigger role would mean taking minutes from someone, but who?

Vonleh is the clear target for a minutes reduction. He should have many more DNP’s next to his name this upcoming year. He just turned 21 and has a nice career ahead of him, but the Trail Blazers are in position to win now.

Finding playing time for every deserving player will be no easy task for Terry Stotts and his staff, but minimizing Davis’ role would be step in the wrong direction. If the Trail Blazers are to be successful – they’ll need quality production from their energetic reserve.