Baron OPTS out?!?!
- Thread starter koncept
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lol, wtf is up with that sig mayne?
and as far as the the who b-diddy situation goes... it just is how it is.
GSW are not a contender this season or next.
for him to move to the clips though would show he just wants the money and to stay in Cali. The odds of the clippers or warriors making it into the finals in Baron's career aren't looking too good the way some other franchises are already built up and investing their money. But who knows, "look at Boston" right?
and as far as the the who b-diddy situation goes... it just is how it is.
GSW are not a contender this season or next.
for him to move to the clips though would show he just wants the money and to stay in Cali. The odds of the clippers or warriors making it into the finals in Baron's career aren't looking too good the way some other franchises are already built up and investing their money. But who knows, "look at Boston" right?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3468448
^ there's a little video clip from ESPN talkin about it
What has been widely described as a shallow pool of NBA free agents got surprisingly deeper Monday night when Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis joined Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand in opting out of the final year on his contract.
The decision was especially unexpected in Davis' case, after strong indications as recently as last week that he would not be forfeiting next season's $17.8 million salary to become an unrestricted free agent.
But the move -- after Davis' camp made little progress in recent weeks in its attempts to secure a contract extension with the Warriors -- suddenly creates the very real possibility that the former UCLA star could wind up alongside Brand in a homecoming with the Clippers.
Brand told ESPN.com that opting out "definitely doesn't mean I'm leaving the Clippers" and that his "intention is to stay" and re-sign with L.A.
Davis' agent, Todd Ramasar, likewise told ESPN.com late Monday that his client "has always been adamant about remaining a Warrior."
But NBA front-office sources said early Tuesday that the Clippers would be showing immediate interest in trying to pair Davis with Brand, although that would almost certainly require L.A. to abandon any interest in re-signing swingman Corey Maggette (who also opted out of his contract Monday after averaging 22.1 points per game this past season) and force Brand to take a slight pay cut.
Baron Davis
Davis
Davis, though, isn't the only point guard on the Clippers' wish list. Sources said Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy was in the New York area over the weekend and stayed over Monday to meet with Beno Udrih of the Sacramento Kings at the first allowable minute, with Udrih coming off a strong first season with the Kings and expected to cost roughly half what Davis would.
As of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning, NBA teams were permitted to commence negotiations and strike verbal agreements with free agents, with actual signings and trades on hold until a leaguewide moratorium is lifted July 9.
Brand and agent David Falk insisted that their decision to forfeit next season's $16.4 million salary and allow Brand to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career was designed to give the Clippers more payroll flexibility to strengthen the team around the face of its franchise.
Falk told ESPN.com that a visit to Boston for Game 2 of the NBA Finals to see the Celtics' triumvirate of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen was Brand's spark.
"He watched what happened when a few stars get together and agree to have a communal effort," Falk said. "He said, 'That's what I'd like to accomplish in my career.'"
Signing Davis away from the Warriors would certainly supply the Clippers with elite anchors in the backcourt as well as the front line, provided that Davis continues to stay healthy after playing all 82 games this past season and if Brand continues to recover from an Achilles tear that limited him to just eight games in 2007-08.
Davis, 29, was the key figure on a Golden State team that halted a 12-season playoff drought in 2006-07 and produced a historic first-round upset of the 67-win Dallas Mavericks in the 2007 playoffs. He then averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds this past season, but the Warriors just missed out on a second consecutive playoff berth despite a win total (48) exceeded by only three teams in the Eastern Conference.
Davis has repeatedly professed his desire to establish long-term roots in Oakland and responded angrily last Wednesday to suggestions that he wanted to be traded, telling ESPN.com: "I know what's in my heart and the people in the Bay Area know what's in my heart."
But it's believed that Davis is not only frustrated by his inability to reach a long-term agreement with the Warriors but also somewhat unsettled by the fact that Golden State still must re-sign young cornerstones Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins and has coach Don Nelson under contract for only one more season.
"[Opting out] was a difficult decision, to say the least," Ramasar said. "The past couple years, he's had a lot of success with the Warriors, and I think they've had a lot of success with him.
"But he had gotten to the point that we were at a crossroads and it was something we had to address. ... With no extension or deal in place ... [opting out] was a bit unexpected but something that I advised Baron to do."
The Clippers appear to be the only realistic free-agent destination for Davis if his opt-out gamble doesn't lead to a new round of contract negotiations with the Warriors or if he can't convince Golden State to participate in a sign-and-trade. Memphis and Philadelphia are the only other teams with cap space to offer, and neither is expected to pursue Davis.
The Warriors, meanwhile, weren't commenting Monday night, so it was not immediately known whether they plan to return to the negotiating table or if they're willing to let Davis go -- despite Golden State's success since pairing Davis with the freewheeling Nelson -- and press ahead with their growing youth movement and the cap space that would be created by Davis' departure.
Golden State let a $9.9 million trade exception -- created by the 2007 draft-day deal that sent Jason Richardson to Charlotte -- expire Monday in part to ensure that it would retain the flexibility beneath the luxury-tax line to match any offers to restricted free agents Ellis and Biedrins. The Warriors also have stockpiled a promising group of youngsters behind those two 22-year-olds: Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli and last week's first-round pick, Anthony Randolph of LSU.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.
^ there's a little video clip from ESPN talkin about it
What has been widely described as a shallow pool of NBA free agents got surprisingly deeper Monday night when Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis joined Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand in opting out of the final year on his contract.
The decision was especially unexpected in Davis' case, after strong indications as recently as last week that he would not be forfeiting next season's $17.8 million salary to become an unrestricted free agent.
But the move -- after Davis' camp made little progress in recent weeks in its attempts to secure a contract extension with the Warriors -- suddenly creates the very real possibility that the former UCLA star could wind up alongside Brand in a homecoming with the Clippers.
Brand told ESPN.com that opting out "definitely doesn't mean I'm leaving the Clippers" and that his "intention is to stay" and re-sign with L.A.
Davis' agent, Todd Ramasar, likewise told ESPN.com late Monday that his client "has always been adamant about remaining a Warrior."
But NBA front-office sources said early Tuesday that the Clippers would be showing immediate interest in trying to pair Davis with Brand, although that would almost certainly require L.A. to abandon any interest in re-signing swingman Corey Maggette (who also opted out of his contract Monday after averaging 22.1 points per game this past season) and force Brand to take a slight pay cut.
Baron Davis
Davis
Davis, though, isn't the only point guard on the Clippers' wish list. Sources said Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy was in the New York area over the weekend and stayed over Monday to meet with Beno Udrih of the Sacramento Kings at the first allowable minute, with Udrih coming off a strong first season with the Kings and expected to cost roughly half what Davis would.
As of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning, NBA teams were permitted to commence negotiations and strike verbal agreements with free agents, with actual signings and trades on hold until a leaguewide moratorium is lifted July 9.
Brand and agent David Falk insisted that their decision to forfeit next season's $16.4 million salary and allow Brand to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career was designed to give the Clippers more payroll flexibility to strengthen the team around the face of its franchise.
Falk told ESPN.com that a visit to Boston for Game 2 of the NBA Finals to see the Celtics' triumvirate of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen was Brand's spark.
"He watched what happened when a few stars get together and agree to have a communal effort," Falk said. "He said, 'That's what I'd like to accomplish in my career.'"
Signing Davis away from the Warriors would certainly supply the Clippers with elite anchors in the backcourt as well as the front line, provided that Davis continues to stay healthy after playing all 82 games this past season and if Brand continues to recover from an Achilles tear that limited him to just eight games in 2007-08.
Davis, 29, was the key figure on a Golden State team that halted a 12-season playoff drought in 2006-07 and produced a historic first-round upset of the 67-win Dallas Mavericks in the 2007 playoffs. He then averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds this past season, but the Warriors just missed out on a second consecutive playoff berth despite a win total (48) exceeded by only three teams in the Eastern Conference.
Davis has repeatedly professed his desire to establish long-term roots in Oakland and responded angrily last Wednesday to suggestions that he wanted to be traded, telling ESPN.com: "I know what's in my heart and the people in the Bay Area know what's in my heart."
But it's believed that Davis is not only frustrated by his inability to reach a long-term agreement with the Warriors but also somewhat unsettled by the fact that Golden State still must re-sign young cornerstones Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins and has coach Don Nelson under contract for only one more season.
"[Opting out] was a difficult decision, to say the least," Ramasar said. "The past couple years, he's had a lot of success with the Warriors, and I think they've had a lot of success with him.
"But he had gotten to the point that we were at a crossroads and it was something we had to address. ... With no extension or deal in place ... [opting out] was a bit unexpected but something that I advised Baron to do."
The Clippers appear to be the only realistic free-agent destination for Davis if his opt-out gamble doesn't lead to a new round of contract negotiations with the Warriors or if he can't convince Golden State to participate in a sign-and-trade. Memphis and Philadelphia are the only other teams with cap space to offer, and neither is expected to pursue Davis.
The Warriors, meanwhile, weren't commenting Monday night, so it was not immediately known whether they plan to return to the negotiating table or if they're willing to let Davis go -- despite Golden State's success since pairing Davis with the freewheeling Nelson -- and press ahead with their growing youth movement and the cap space that would be created by Davis' departure.
Golden State let a $9.9 million trade exception -- created by the 2007 draft-day deal that sent Jason Richardson to Charlotte -- expire Monday in part to ensure that it would retain the flexibility beneath the luxury-tax line to match any offers to restricted free agents Ellis and Biedrins. The Warriors also have stockpiled a promising group of youngsters behind those two 22-year-olds: Brandan Wright, Marco Belinelli and last week's first-round pick, Anthony Randolph of LSU.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.
See I don't understand when people say shit like this. Baron's from LA, grew up a Lakers fan, and has a perfect opportunity to win a championship with the team he dreamed about being a part of as a kid. I'm a Warriors fan but I wouldn't be mad at a player taking less money to return home to try to win a championship and be close to his family. Everyone always complains if they go somewhere shitty to take more money, and now the same for taking less with a contender??? And NO, the Warriors still weren't close to being a contender for a championship with the team as it was last year.
^^^California rival, if nothing else. On top of it, Lakes always destroy the Warriors. I think the Warriors win at the Staples Center, on easter this year, was the first ever for the Warriors? And, after the next days game (where beloved Fisher got the most unbelievable call ive ever seen), why wouldnt we hate the fuckin lakers? On top of it, the lakers are always good, and LA SHOULD get all the media attention, but the warriors arent a weak team but get no love or spotlight whatsoever.