The impact new acquisition Ed Davis will have on the Minnesota Timberwolves likely won’t be evident on the stat sheet. Sure, the rebounds and high field goal percentage will stick out, but the addition of the 10-year NBA veteran Davis to a young Wolves side will extend far beyond the box score.
“I just bring energy, man,” Davis would often say in the locker room during his successful run of four seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.
"Some nights, I might score 20,” he said memorably after joining the Blazers in 2015. “Some nights, I might not score but I might have 15 rebounds. Every night, I’m just going to play hard and bring energy."
Through stints with the Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Brooklyn Nets, and most recently Utah Jazz, the 31-year-old Davis has built the reputation of a no-nonsense glue guy in the locker room while doing all the dirty work on the court that often doesn’t make the highlight reel. Davis’ presence on the floor has been lauded by teammates while earning fan-favorite status along the way at every stop in his NBA career.
Davis’s professionalism, along with the addition of fellow vet Ricky Rubio, will be vital in the growth and maturation of one of the NBA’s youngest rosters.
"You just feel Ed’s presence: on the offensive glass, attacking the rim, him contesting shots around the rim,” Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard said back in 2017. “More than anything, you hear him out there talking. On defense, he’s in constant communication. He’s active; he’s talking’ trash.
"When Ed is on the court, you know Ed is on the court."
Perhaps equally important, Davis already has a rapport with he Wolves coaching staff from his time with Associate Head Coach David Vanterpool in Portland and his one season working with Assistant Coach Pablo Prigioni in Brooklyn.
A pick-and-roll weapon on the offensive end, Davis brought the best out of current-Minnesota point guard D’Angelo Russell during their season together with the Nets. Davis on of a few veterans in Brooklyn that helped groom Russell into a leadership role as the Nets earned the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference in 2018-19.
“Him as a leader, from the day I got [to Brooklyn], he came in every day, went to work,” Davis said of Russell following their time in Brooklyn. “Never anything selfish, nothing about him — it was always about the team. On the road, he did everything with us. He’s a little young now, just starting to come into his own, but he’s definitely going to be a leader because he definitely [has] a basketball mind and he respects the game.
Minnesota’s addition of Ed Davis may not be a splash in NBA headlines, but the impact will surely be felt when basketball returns to play this winter.