July 2nd, 2008 – Dr. J-Water
If the Golden State Warriors holding out on signing Baron Davis to the salary he was seeking in negotiations for a contract extension was their way of calling his bluff, Baron Davis just turned over a Royal Flush. Baron Davis has publicly announced his verbal agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers to sign with them immediately following the July 9th end to the NBA moratorium on signing free agents and/or making trades. The deal is reported to be in the neighborhood of a 5-year $65 million dollar contract for his services.
The agreement with superstar Baron Davis couldn’t have come at a better time for the Clippers. With the face of their franchise, Elton Brand, opting out of the final year of his contract this week making him an unrestricted free agent there were many questions regarding his loyalties to the Clippers. Although it was widely considered to be a move by Brand to free up enough money for the Clippers to sign a big name free agent, it was also a bit of a test by Brand to see just how committed the Clippers executive team was to putting together a team of players that could compete in the tough Western Conference. The signing of superstar point guard Baron Davis will no doubt put that issue to rest for Brand. Most analysts are predicting that Brand will be agreeing to a contract with the Clippers as soon as Wednesday, and both Brand and Davis officially becoming teammates on July 9th when the NBA moratorium ends.
Although everyone in Golden State is currently in a state of shock, the Warriors executives are now scrambling to accelerate discussions with their star guard Monta Ellis for a contract extension that would keep him with the club long term. There was talk earlier this week about the Warriors making a max offer to Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas, however now that the Wizards have offered him some big money and resigned Antawn Jamison at Gilbert’s request, there will be little hope in Golden State landing Agent Zero.
Boom Dizzle agreeing to sign with the Clippers however is hardly a shock to many who have followed his career outside of basketball. As of late, Davis has become heavily involved in the film industry as a producer, with his most recent project “Made in America” already receiving positive feedback about its portrayal of gang life in L.A. Aside from films, Davis was born and raised in Los Angeles and has always maintained his interest in one day playing for his hometown. For years there has been talk and speculation but no one has been certain if one day that team would be the Lakers or the Clippers. Baron Davis is the type of player that is heavily involved in community support initiatives and since agreeing to sign with the Clippers has already been voicing his excitement to give back to the kids in LA that need some support.
While the Baron Davis signing has killed any chance of resigning the Clippers unrestricted swingman Corey Maggette, if the paperclips can sign Brand they will have a pretty solid lineup with Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Elton Brand, and Chris Kaman. Probably not enough to make a serious run at the title, but it’s definitely enough to get into the post-season. As we saw with Baron leading Golden State to the major upset over the Dallas Mavericks last year, just making the playoffs is enough to believe that “anything can happen.”
