Unrestricted free agent power forward Glen Davis underwent surgery today to repair torn ligaments, a cyst, and bone spurs in his left ankle, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). Davis is expected to be out of action for two-to-three months before being permitted to return to basketball related activities, Spears adds, which means Davis could return to the court in mid-November or early December if all goes well with his recovery.
This news certainly complicates matters for the 29-year-old, who was garnering strong interest from the Clippers in free agency. Coach and executive Doc Rivers had spoken with Davis’ representatives last week, but no deal was struck. The two sides have reportedly been circling each other since early July. It’s likely at this point that Los Angeles will move on from Davis and look elsewhere to fill out its training camp roster, though the Clippers could certainly revisit adding the forward when he’s recovered from today’s procedure, but that is merely my speculation. Los Angeles currently has a roster count of 15 players, 14 of whom possess fully guaranteed deals.
The Mavericks also reportedly contacted Davis’ representatives recently to discuss a potential deal, and playing overseas in China or Europe were also possibilities for the veteran, as was relayed by Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times last week. The Bucks were also mentioned as potential suitors early in free agency, but the signing of Chris Copeland effectively removed Milwaukee from the mix for Davis’ services.
Davis appeared in 74 contests for the Clippers during the 2014/15 campaign and averaged 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.2 minutes of action per night. His career numbers through eight NBA seasons are 8.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 0.9 APG with a slash line of .447/.182/.700.
This doesn’t sound like something that just happened overnight, so the surgery is curiously timed. I wonder if some red flags came up in a physical or during a workout.
That is a huge blow for the clippers to try to resign him back