Why does Ed Davis make Amir Johnson redundant?

[footarez]

yeah,,I'd add that if he continues to improve the way he has so far it would be another point to keep him on the team.Many times this season they both played together and usually that was when the Raptors were making a run.I doubt it is coincidence.And let's not forget that injuries almost always happen so I'm against trading him.Unless it is some kind of great trade for us.And I doubt other team's gms like his game as much as I do.So I'm sure they can co-exist and make the team a lot better.It is not sure but considering the way they work out and the tempo of Ed's adjusting to the nba and his improvement and Amir's growth since he is a raptor I foresee them becoming great players.Not all star players maybe but very good ones.

[Tim W.]

I've read numerous times that Amir Johnson is now redundant, so he should be traded. Quite frankly, I don't understand this. While Davis and Amir play the same position, I'm not sure how that makes one of them redundant. You still need, at least, three quality big men if you hope to be a decent team. And neither Amir nor Davis have the type of games that will get in the way of one another. This isn't Jermaine O'Neal and Bosh, or Calderon and Turkoglu. We've seen both Amir and Davis work well when they're on the floor together. Because he can hit the 15 footer and play the high pick and roll, Amir has done very well in the high post, while Davis seems best suited for the low post.

To me, the whole point of rebuilding is to acquire as many assets as you can and keep the ones that will help your team win, if you can, and trade the rest. Now, I'm not against trading Amir if it really makes the team better, but I certainly wouldn't go out and TRY and trade him.

The way I see it, Amir is optimally a bench player. It's not that I don't think he should be a starter, but he's got the type of high energy game that is probably best coming off the bench. And a player like Amir is rarer than I think many people realize. I think if Amir is traded, the Raptors will end up regretting it because they'll struggle to find a backup big that is as good and helps the team as much as Amir does.

A front line of whatever center is acquired, Davis and Amir has 96 minutes between them, which means each player could end up playing 32 mpg. More than enough minutes between the three of them.