Swanigan replacement number two – Deyonta Davis
Twenty-three-year-old free agent Deyonta Davis is precisely the type of hustle big man that could help this Blazers roster in Orlando.
Davis is a six-foot-eleven 240-pound specimen, who last played in the league for the Atlanta Hawks in 2019. A great finisher at the rim, Davis is also a strong rim protector.
Drafted with the 31st pick by the Boston Celtics in 2016, Davis was then traded on draft night to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he played 98 games for them before being traded to the Sacramento Kings who waived him before the 2018/19 season.
Davis had several ten-day and summer contracts but hasn’t been able to stick to a roster and gain a longer-term deal.
Davis could be the energy guy for ten minutes a night who runs from end to end, blocking shots, rebounding and finishing around the rim. He is a younger option than most of the other bigs available on the open market, so he has minimal playoff experience, but he could be an excellent foil to the slower bigs on the roster in Jusuf Nurkic and Hassan Whiteside.
If the Blazers were to see him as more of a longterm piece, they could sign him to a second non-guaranteed year, at no risk to themselves.