Ed Davis sat at the dining room table of his Forest Heights home with a Christmas tree sparkling in the background and the cutest little baby boy you've ever seen bouncing on his knee.

It was a few days before Christmas and Davis, who became a father to twin boys last April, was chatting about the joys of fatherhood and his affinity for Portland, when he halted the conversation with his best impersonation of the Grinch.

"Santa Claus is not real," he said, cradling his son in his arms.

If you thought Davis, the hustle and muscle behind the Portland Trail Blazers' front line, was ruthless on the court, you should hear his thoughts about one of your most beloved holidays. The person who once laughed off a postseason guarantee by his coach and later boasted that he wanted to face the L.A. Clippers in the playoffs, prides himself on keeping it real. And he has no plans of softening when it comes to his baby boys, even if it means spoiling a little childhood innocence.

"A lot of stuff is just so commercialized nowadays," Davis said. "You've got holidays and stuff and people don't know why they're celebrating. So I'm just not big on a bunch of gifts for Christmas and Santa Claus. I have this discussion with my mom all the time. I would never write on a gift for my kids, 'From Santa Claus.' It's just not real. It's from mommy. It's from daddy. That's what it is. That's just how I am. That's just how I go about life. That's how I'm going to raise them."

But as he enters one of the more uneasy moments of his NBA career, the question simmering in the Davis household is less about how he's going to raise Easton and Eagan and more about where. Finally, after playing for four teams in seven-plus seasons, Davis feels like he has found a home in Portland, a city that not only has embraced his hard-nosed playing style but also served as the birthplace for his boys.

If Davis survives Thursday's NBA trade deadline, this will be his longest stretch with any team in his career. But the man who likes to keep it real has, for weeks, been bracing for the worst, knowing full well he could be a deadline casualty.

"I know there's a chance something could happen," Davis said in December. "For any guy that's in a contract year, or has their contract coming up, you think about it every day. I think about it all the time. I'm hoping that we can make something work here this summer, where I'm here long-term. Hopefully I can retire here. But you just never know. The team is going to do what's best for the organization and you just have to respect it."

But this respect -- and this deadline -- are more complicated now for Davis. For the first time, it's not just he who would be affected by an unwanted trade, but also his baby boys.

ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A DAD

Ed Davis is averaging 5.6 points and 7.0 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game this season for the Blazers. (Photo by Sean Meagher/Staff)

When the Blazers returned from a five-day, three-game East Coast trip in the wee hours Tuesday morning, Davis climbed the stairs in his house and tiptoed to his sons' rooms, quietly cracking open their doors. In what has become a ritual after long trips, Davis had to sneak a peek before he crashed for the night.

The last-second loss to the Boston Celtics? The three-game losing streak? Whatever. It was a moment of serenity in the middle of the chaotic NBA season.

"Honestly, when I get home, I don't even think about basketball," Davis said. "All my focus goes to them and spending time with them, trying to teach them things and watching them grow. No matter what's going on, job-wise or just with life in general, I come home to them and they're going to be in the same mood every day. That love right there, it relieves a lot of stress."

If you ask Angela Jones, Davis' mother, she will tell you her son has always coveted this love. For years, he has talked about wanting to have a big family -- he says he wants four kids -- and has long prioritized fatherhood over being a husband.

"I always thought having kids really brings people closer than getting married," Davis said. "You can get married, go through a divorce and never talk to them again. But once you have kids, you're stuck for life."

So when Easton and Eagan arrived into the world on April 21, 2017, it didn't matter than they were born a month premature or that Davis wore a sling around his surgically-repaired left shoulder. It was the happiest day of his life.

"He always told me that he wanted to be a dad," Jones said. "He just loves kids."

And while Davis likes to joke that Kayla Head, his fiancee, won't allow him to be alone with the boys longer than 45 minutes, he instantly embraced fatherhood. Easton, his youngest, is most like him. Laid back. Reserved. Observant. Chill. When an unfamiliar face walks into the Davis house, Easton is cautious and prone to shed a few tears, which are quieted quickly when he plops down on dad's lap. Eagan, on the other hand, is outgoing and active, a bundle of energy who is always on the go. If he's not fiddling with the cords dangling from the living room blinds, he's probably trying to climb up the stairs.

"Easton is a super chill baby," Head said. "All you have to do is feed him and hold him. But Eagan, he's my little active angel. He's adventurous. Always moving around, always trying to get into something."

Davis and Head used to long for Blazers off days, when they would lounge around the house recuperating and relaxing. Now, Davis wakes up early on off days, bustling with energy, eager to spend time with his boys. It's one of the many subtle changes Head has seen in her fiancee. Perhaps the weirdest, she says, is Davis' sudden thirst for parenting tips. He's constantly quizzing people and scouring the internet for parenting advice, which he then shares with Head, overwhelming her with his newfound knowledge.

They shouldn't stay in their walkers too long. Make sure they get four-to-five bottles of 4-6 ounces of milk a day. Why did you choose that car seat?

"It's really weird," she said, laughing. "He's always talking to people about babies, which he never used to do. He'll be like, 'I talked to this person and we should be doing this.' Or, 'I looked it up and we should think about doing this.' I'm like, 'What's going on? Where is this coming from?' He's more hands-on than I expected."

He's also grown a little more cautious. In the past, when the Blazers returned from trips late at night, Davis would settle behind the wheel of his ride, drive toward the freeway and floor it, cruising home in the peaceful darkness at speeds he care not to share. But on Tuesday, as has been the case since Easton and Eagan were born, he might as well have been driving next to grandma in the slow lane.

"Now it's like, 'Ehhhhhh, I'm going to go 65,'" Davis said. "You think twice about certain decisions you make. You don't take certain chances any more. If there's a yellow light and I've got my kids in the car, I'm breaking for sure. I'm not going through that light. Life is short, things can happen."

Things like trades. And Davis isn't the only one rooting against one before Thursday.

COMFORTABLE IN PORTLAND

Ed Davis hopes he can finish his career in Portland. (Photo by Sean Meagher/Staff)

Damian Lillard, the longest-tenured Blazers player, has seen teammates come and go during his nearly six seasons in Portland. But the man with owner Paul Allen's ear has made one thing clear: He doesn't want Ed Davis going anywhere.

"It's a part of the business that anything can happen at the deadline," Lillard said last month. "But I'm always there to say, 'Man, I'm willing to fight for Ed.' I don't want to see his name ever come up in one of those (trade) situations. I always tell my brother, my cousins -- everyone in my family -- the same way Udonis Haslem was with (Dwyane) Wade his whole career in Miami, that's how I feel about Ed and me. He's like my comfort blanket with our team, just knowing he's there. As a friend and as a teammate."

Davis' value to the Blazers extends well beyond the 5.6 points and 7.0 rebounds he brings each night. On the court, his high-level defense, rebounding and consistency have helped him evolve into one of the NBA's best backup centers. Off the court, he's one of the most respected and liked players in the locker room, a self-described "old soul" who is willing to speak his mind and eager to mentor one of the league's youngest front courts.

All the while, Davis has grown into a fan favorite, the type of hard-nosed, hustle-infused, scowl-wearing grinder Portland gravitates to.

"He's super, super important to our team," Lillard said. "He's one of those guys that comes into the game, you know he's going to rebound, you know he's going to be the backbone of our defense and help. You know he cares about the team. He's not going out there saying, 'Oh, I've got to have a career year because I'm in a contract year.' He's not one of those guys. He's going to go out there with one goal: do whatever he can to help the team."

Back in Forest Hills, with that Christmas tree sparkling in the background, Davis' fiancee can't help but shake her head at his declaration that Santa Claus isn't real.

"Oh, my God," Head said, laughing. "You're such a party pooper. You're going to ruin all the holidays."

But Davis won't budge. He has earned more money in seven-plus years than most do in a lifetime, so his kids won't want for anything. But along the way, the priority will be on showing them how to be good people, not good consumers. If they do well on their report cards, perhaps they'll get that X-Box they might want. If they act respectfully, they'll have plenty of toys. Christmas? That, Davis says, will be about showing appreciation and being thankful, not gifts.

"I get it," Head said. "Edward has worked hard for the kids. He wants his kids to do things the right way, work hard and then get the rewards. We're just going to have to start new family traditions. Maybe go to the movies, hang out, volunteer. We'll see when they get a little older. They'll need to know the real reason for this holiday, who celebrates it and why."

But will the new family traditions play out in Portland?

Davis didn't know what to expect when he signed a three-year deal with the Blazers in 2015. He was leery of the rain and, as a Virginia native, used to East Coast living. But he instantly embraced Portland, falling for its laid-back vibe, next-level food scene and basketball-crazed fan base. Portland is where he and Head strengthened their relationship. It's where his sons were born.

In less than three years, Portland has become home.

"For me, it pretty much started with how the fan base embraced me from Day 1," Davis said. "Just how much love they show me around the city, the fans, just everything. If I make it past the deadline, this will be the longest stay I've ever had. I'm comfortable here, comfortable with the city, comfortable with the front office guys, all the coaches, and obviously comfortable with all the players. This is where I want to be."

Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman