Quick post here. Bryan Colangelo introduced Ed Davis and Solomon Alabi at the ACC on Monday. Colangelo definitely sounds like a man who is trying to build a different roster than last year, he’s speaking of the upcoming team as something brand new based on the DeRozan and Weems era, not the Chris Bosh one. He starts by mentioning that he would have taken Solomon Alabi if the Raptors had managed to acquire a late first round pick.
Solomon Alabi addressed the concerns about his Hepatitis-B and Alabi’s doctors and the Raptors’ medical staff don’t see it affecting his playing career at all. When asked about falling in the draft, Alabi says that “the other teams missed out”. It’s good to see a guy who’s going to play with a chip on his shoulder, for that matter, the same could be said for Ed Davis. Alabi’s from Nigeria and his favorite player was….wait for it….take a guess now….Hakeem Olajuwon. He actually wants to become a better player than ex-Raptor Hakeem.
Ed Davis had no idea where he was going because he doesn’t follow the mock drafts because “they don’t mean anything”. When asked whether his game will translate to the NBA, I loved his response: “I just know that rebounding, running the floor and blocking shots always translates from college to the NBA and I can do that every day”.
Free-agency talk: Colangelo says that Amir Johnson is in the fold, and when asked what the PT is going to be with Johnson and the new bigs, he says that he wants to develop the young players, much like he did with DeMar DeRozan. He’s definitely speaking of Chris Bosh in the light of a sign-and-trade, and for the first time I’ve seen Colangelo pretty much concede that Bosh is gone. Colangelo’s mentioning rebounding, “protecting the paint” and blocking shots – he’s sure come a long way from signing Jason Kapono on Day 1 of 2007 free-agency.
It’s really evident that Ed Davis is a very mature individual and that the influence his dad, Terry Davis, had on him is going to come in handy. He’s seeing Chris Bosh’s departure as a “great opportunity” for getting playing time, both these kids seem very focused on proving their worth, especially on defense. Both will be joining DeMar DeRozan, Sonny Weems and Joey Dorsey (almost forgot about him) in the Summer League. Colangelo feels that the collegiate level the two played at will be very valuable to them, and that they wont’ be fazed by the NBA game.
Davis says that playing in North Carolina has helped him because he’s played against “top notch talent” and it’s prepared him for what he’s about to face. He’s looking forward to summer league, especially because he hasn’t played since February (due to injury). And yes, somebody asked him a dumb passport question. He says he’s got to get stronger and more explosive before the season starts, along with improving just about everything else.
Alabi says that it’s a “great honor for me and my family” to play in the NBA. He’s acknowledged that Masai Ujiri has been a big influence on him and he’s had a good relationship with him for a long time. Alabi just sounds like he’s stoked to be here. Looking forward to it.
A personal congrats to Colangelo for having a pretty solid draft. Too bad he couldn’t land Avery Bradley.
Ed Davis will wear 32, Solomon Alabi’s got 50. The videos below are courtesy of raptors.com.
Press Conference:
Ed Davis:
Solomon Alabi:
