If it were just about on the court performance, it would be a no-brainer to pick up the team option on Terence Davis’ contract. He averaged 7.3 points a game, shooting 38% from three, in Toronto as a rookie and played well enough to make the All-Rookie Team second team. At $1.5 million, he’s a steal.
But it’s also about his off-the-court issues — Davis was arrested on a series of domestic assault charges, including hitting his girlfriend in the face, according to the police report. The Raptors are cooperating with the league on the investigation (which is part of the NBA/NBPA policy on domestic violence).
Toronto has waited, but it likely picks up Davis’ contract, reports Michael Grange at SportsNet.It’s a trickier decision now, yet it’s almost inevitable that Davis’s contract will be guaranteed by Sunday, according to league sources...
But because the Raptors do have the option – in theory – of waiving their rights to Davis by Sunday, it has created some urgency around the question of what an organization that prides itself on promoting and supporting women in a traditionally male-dominated industry will do with a player alleged to have hit his girlfriend?
The team and league could — and likely will — punish Davis above and beyond whatever the legal system in New York does. However, it has been the league’s MO to generally let the legal process play out before dealing with suspensions or fines. Davis is due back in court on Dec. 11, but the case likely drags out longer than that.
In the short term, he stays a Raptor and it’s business as usual. His option gets picked up. But the fallout from this case has yet to come.
