Jon Jennings and Dave Leitao have stressed from the beginning of their relationship as general manager and coach of the Maine Red Claws that they would work to put together a competitive team.
Wednesday was another step in that direction.
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The Red Claws claimed 32-year-old Ricky Davis, the former Boston Celtics shooting guard/small forward, off the available player pool of the NBA Development League.
Davis, who played in 736 games for six NBA clubs, will join the team for tonight’s game in Canton, Ohio.
He’ll make his Portland Expo debut on New Year’s Eve when the Red Claws play Rio Grande at 1 p.m. To make room for the 6-foot-6, 195-pound Davis, the Red Claws waived 5-8 point guard Tic Snow.
Jennings said the club’s early-season struggles prompted the team’s latest roster move.
“I don’t think, when you’re 4-7, you can be happy,” said Jennings. “We want to make sure we put a competitive team on the floor for our fans. So we’re going to do whatever it takes to have a good team, and at the same time continue to develop players.”
Davis, who played parts of three seasons with the Celtics (averaging 16 points per game in his one full season, 2004-05), last played in the NBA in 2010. Since then he has played in Turkey, China and most recently, France.
He recently signed into the D-League, and Jennings, seeing his name on the list, quickly spoke with Leitao.
“Coach Leitao and I are both working to remake our roster and get much more competitive and more experienced,” said Jennings.
“We both felt Ricky would be a terrific player to bring in, not only for all the years of NBA experience he has, but we feel, at 32, he still has a lot of basketball left in him and can help us win some games.”
A first-round draft pick (21st overall) by Charlotte in 1998, Davis averaged 13.5 points, 3.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds in his 12-year NBA career. His best scoring season was in 2002-03, when he averaged 20.6 points for Cleveland.
The move was the latest in a season-long roster shift, caused by the start of the NBA season being delayed by a lockout. Last Saturday, the Red Claws lost rookie forward Chris Wright when Golden State signed him to an NBA contract out of training camp.
On Tuesday, Maine waived forward Jamar Abrams outright and waived Antonio Anderson and Darren Cooper due to injury (meaning the Red Claws retain their D-League rights). Also Tuesday, the Red Claws added guard Xavier Silas, who was waived by Philadelphia out of training camp and joins Maine as an affiliate player.
Silas, a 23-year-old rookie guard out of Northern Illinois (and son of former NBA player James Silas), scored nine points in Tuesday’s 106-90 loss to Canton.
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:
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