Former BYU center Brandon Davies is now a Los Angeles Clipper after signing a partially guaranteed contract Thursday afternoon, the team reported.
Davies averaged 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 15.8 minutes for the Clippers during the NBA’s summer league; another BYU success story is one step closer to lacing up in the NBA. While the contract is an indication that he has a secure future in the league, Davies said he is driven to a new level after the day’s events.
“Special day today! Made it this far.. But let’s see where working twice as hard takes me. #Blessed,” Davies tweeted.
Former teammate Jimmer Fredette is still attempting to fit into the Sacramento Kings’ offense and see more time off the bench, and Cougar Nation is also likely to closely follow Davies’ playing time with the Clippers. The team is widely considered a contender for next season’s NBA championship after re-signing superstar point guard Chris Paul and bringing in title-winning coach Doc Rivers from the Boston Celtics.
And it appears Davies has already won over his coach.
“We really liked Brandon in Summer League,” Rivers said in a press release. “We like his ability to play multiple positions, and he fits with our team. He understands team basketball and has been in here all summer working on his game.”
In four years at BYU, Davies put up 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists while averaging 24.1 minutes per game. He received more attention from teams after being named the 2013 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament MVP this spring.
His performance there earned Davies an invite to the mid-May NBA draft combine, which only 60 NBA hopefuls attended. But a contract with an NBA team was still far from reach at that point.
In fact, Los Angeles was the last stop of many en route to sign with the Clippers. Thursday’s offer came after a summer full of travel, rejection and uncertainty. Davies participated in pre-draft workouts with close to a dozen teams including the Phoenix Suns, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz.
After going undrafted in June, Davies joined the Clippers summer league team and got the chance he was looking for. The rest is history.
But even after his signing, Davies’ ability to compete at the top level remains an unknown variable.
“Davies can do a lot of things at the next level. The question is whether he can do any one of those things well enough to be a rotation player,” said Jonathan Tjarks of SBNation.com. “He isn’t a great shooter, rebounder or defensive player, and no team is going to allow him to create much offense for himself, at least early in his career.”
The Clippers did not disclose the terms of Davies’ deal.
