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Ed Davis Snubs Conley, States Lillard is His ‘Best PG’

By Christian Dudley

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Jan 2, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) attempts a shot defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward Ed Davis (21) during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Memphis Grizzlies won 109-106. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Former Memphis Grizzly and current Portland Trail Blazer Ed Davis stated in his introductory press conference that Damian Lillard will “be the best point guard [he] has ever played with.”

Ed Davis spent one full season and part of another with the Memphis Grizzlies. He left the team in Free-Agency in the summer of 2014 to join the Los Angeles Lakers. After a one-year experiment with the Lake Show, he is moving onto his third Western Conference team.

On Wednesday, he was introduced to the media as the newest member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Yes, Portland is the team the Memphis Grizzlies dueled against in the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs. They are the club that injured Memphis’ star point guard–Mike Conley.

What was once a brotherhood between Conley’s Grizzlies and Ed Davis, the Trail Blazers’ latest signee, could potentially be transitioning into a situation of bad blood.

Although this is purely speculation, it is rather suspicious that Davis spoke the following quote in his introductory press conference earlier this week:

"“He [Damian Lillard] is going to be the best point guard I have ever played with, so he will make a lot of things easier for me.”"

The exact presser can be viewed in this YouTube video.

[Ed. Note: Skip to the 6:50 mark.]

It seems as if Ed Davis paid zero attention to the fact that he played with Mike “Clutch” Conley for almost two full seasons. MC is one of the biggest All-Star Game snubs in NBA history. There is no doubt that Mike is a great player in the association. Ed, could you have maybe provided a little bit of a comparison or acknowledgement of Conley when speaking about Damian Lillard? After all, Ed Davis was on the Conley-led Grizz squad that earned a trip to the 2013 Western Conference Finals–the first in Memphis’ franchise history.

Davis made it seem as if he has never played with even an averge point guard and all of a sudden Dame Lillard–although an NBA All-Star–is above and beyond any other PG he has ever had as a teammate. Dame is a phenomenal player and athlete, but all of this talk is before Ed has even suited up in real game on the same team as Lillard.

Apr 22, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) and Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) during game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at FedExForum. Memphis Grizzlies beat Portland Trail Blazers 97 – 82 Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Additionally, Mike has definitely stepped his game up another notch over the course of the past season, but he was still a high-quality point guard on both ends of the floor long before the 2014-15 season. Lillard, however, has only shown to be consistent on the offensive end…and even at that, he struggled mightily to put up points against Mike Conley this past postseason.

Your comments are a little premature, right, Mr. Davis??

While the Memphis Grizzlies will certainly have any and all meetings against the Portland Trail Blazers circled on their calendars once the 2015-16 schedule is revealed, this may add even more heat to the fire for M-Town.

Perhaps 2015-16 will finally be the season that Mike Conley achieves the All-Star nod that he has long been deserving. While it should have already happened, the door is not yet closing on his chances.

Mike Conley is his name. Dominating Portland is his game.

Will Ed Davis, Damian Lillard, and company be able to compete with the grit-‘n’-grind Grizzlies when the two teams meet next?

Continue to check Beale Street Bears for the latest news and info of the offseason regarding your Memphis Grizzlies!

Go Grizz!

Next: Day 1 of 'Signing Day' involves the Grizzlies in major ways?

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