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The Trail Blazers finally got something back from the Nets but Portland fans are not happy.
After trading Allen Crabbe for Andrew Nicholson last July and permitting the Nets to sign Ed Davis at a very reasonable $4.4 million Sunday morning, Portland took on Nets free agent Nik Stauskas. Chris Haynes of ESPN broke the news at 2:25 a.m...
Free agent guard Nik Stauskas has agreed to a deal with Portland, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 1, 2018
The deal is a one-year, veterans minimum contract, about as low a risk as possible.
How did Blazers’ fans react to what looked like a Davis-for-Stauskas trade. Not well. Davis was a fan favorite and they noted that Stauskas has no playoff experience, having played for the Kings, 76ers and Nets. Jason Quick, the long time Blazers beat writer, summed it up in a few early morning tweets.
What a hilarious start to Blazers offseason: lose Ed Davis and gain .. (cough) Nik Stauskas. Gotta get better ... right? Right? ... right?
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) July 1, 2018
I’ll learn more about Ed Davis’ thinking tomorrow, but tonight he texts: “I said I wanted to come back ...”
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) July 1, 2018
Olshey’s stance with Blazers has been about keeping their talent: Crabbe, Leonard, Harkless, etc. ... they all got big money. But not Ed freaking Davis? Was the heartbeat of team and is best backup center in NBA, but not good enough to open the wallet? Huh.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) July 1, 2018
He was not alone as many Blazers fans suggested that Sean Marks had taken advantage of Neil Olshey, Blazers GM. Then there was Damian Lillard’s reaction...
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 1, 2018
And C.J. McCollum’s reaction to Lillard’s reaction...
lost a real one https://t.co/7XTotNgIZX
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) July 1, 2018
Dave Deckard of Blazers Edge, the Nets sister site in Portland, wrote about the deal Sunday, first acknowledging that Davis’ back-to-the-basket game, heavy on rebounding, light on shooting game isn’t in fashion and Davis will probably be replaced easily. But, he added...
Those things are beside the point, however. The real issue is this: Davis was well worth that contract. It was a steal at one year. He played well, was well-liked, and ended up as a valuable reserve for the Blazers. Under normal circumstances, there’s no way they should have surrendered him to that kind of counter-offer. Under normal circumstances, if that’s what Davis wanted and what the market would bear, they should have thrown an arm across his shoulder, reminded him that packing up a house is far more of a pain than staying in one, and welcomed him back home. Under normal circumstances, re-signing Ed Davis was a no-brainer.
Deckard also referred to Davis as “an incredible, heart-filled, blue-collar player.” Sounds good. As for Stauskas, the fan reaction was a hearty “meh.”
Stauskas was included in the December 2017 trade that brought Jahlil Okafor and the Knicks 2019 second rounder to the Nets for Trevor Booker. He shot 40 percent from 3-point range this season. He played in 41 games, averaged 4.4 points in 12.8 minutes.
The 6’6” Michigan product scored 22 points in his Brooklyn debut on December. 15, hitting 6-of-9 overall and going 5-for-7 from 3-point range setting a Nets record for most three’s in a debut.
- Blazers fans rail against Neil Olshey over Ed Davis departure - Jared Cowley - KGW