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2025 Free Agents - JD Davison

Davison was a high-level recruit coming out of highschool in 2021, and despite having a somewhat disappointing freshman year at Alabama he entered the 2022 draft, where he was picked 53rd overall and has spent the majority of his career in the G-League this far. Over three seasons, he has only played about 100 minutes of non-garbage time in the NBA across 17 games, according to Cleaning the Glass, so he doesn't really have any relevant NBA sample to look at. Davison is a lead guard whose primary skill is getting downhill and to the basket. He has been productive in the G-League thus far, including averaging over 25 points per game and 7.5 assists per game in '24-'25. He has improved his feel from a playmaking perspective, as in college he could get out of control on drives and his assist to turnover rate was pretty poor. He still turns it over a little too much, but that ratio has improved significant in his G-League minutes. The jumper still isn't falling for him, and while that also has improved, he only hit 33% of his 3s in the G-League in '24-'25. Defensively, Davison can make some impressive plays with his athleticism, but can gamble too much for steals and in general isn't the most disciplined or heady defender. He has a solid wingspan but is still small enough that he probably has to play point guard, or at least needs to be the smallest defender on the court. Davison is still just 22 years old, and has improved well enough in the G-League to earn a standard contract near the end of the '24-'25 season. He hasn't proven yet he can contribute on an NBA team, but someone might give him a chance soon.

Summary

Davison has a $2.3 million team option for 2025-2026, and if the Celtics decline the option Davison will be a restricted free agent with a $2.6 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer. However, the Celtics could refuse to tender the QO, which would make Davison an unrestricted free agent. If his option is declined, other teams will have multiple ways to sign Davison as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him to an offer sheet (although you rarely ever see offer sheets below the full MLE). If the Celtics don't give Davison a QO, this likely means he could be had for the minimum, and he may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.

Cap Considerations

Kira Lewis (1 year minimum, non-guaranteed 2024) Malachi Flynn (1 year minimum, non-guaranteed 2024) Jared Butler (1 year minimum, non-guaranteed, 2024)

Player/Contract Comparison

Potential Teams: Celtics, Clippers, Kings, Suns, Timberwolves

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.4 million (non-guaranteed) with the Celtics

Actual Contract: Two-way contract with the Rockets

Davison's team option was declined as expected, and he signed a two-way with Houston.

Last updated: 7/29/2025

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