Baron Davis is looking to make an NBA return.
Or so says Baron Davis.
Per the Akron Beacon Journal‘s Jason Lloyd, Davis is attempting a comeback and would welcome the opportunity to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers:
He is 35 now and hasn’t played in a game in more than two years, but Baron Davis insists he’s serious about a comeback in the NBA. Davis is in Las Vegas for summer league, just as he is every year. Only now, the former Cavs guard is looking for a job.
Davis tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee during the New York Knicks’ playoff series against the Miami Heat two years ago. He’s still not 100 percent, labeling his health “somewhere in the 80s,” but believes he can contribute to a team and said he’d love to return to Cleveland.
“Cleveland always has a special place in my heart because when I got traded there, people doubted whether I’d ever play and those fans embraced me and the organization embraced me,” Davis said. “At that time, I needed Cleveland more than Cleveland needed me.”
It’s almost like Boom Dizzle knows the Cavs signed LeBron James and have a really good team now or something.
At 35, Davis isn’t going to make a return. It’s highly unlikely at best. He hasn’t played in the league since 2012, sitting out the last two seasons after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee against the Miami Heat while he was a member of the New York Knicks.
This isn’t to say he can’t ball. Maybe he can. But let’s be realistic, even he admits that he’s not 100 percent. Teams aren’t going to be chomping at the bit for a 35-year-old two-plus years removed from NBA action, who isn’t even fully healthy. That would be bizarre and irresponsible and confusing.
Nostalgia gets the best of all us, though. Seeing B-Diddy, a two-time All-Star and habitual grower of beards, back in the fray would be awesome. He and James Harden could have a beard-off.
Or something.
But, again, it’s soooo unlikely. Davis started to drop off during his final seasons. His production began to peter out in 2008 while he was with the Los Angeles Clippers and after he was traded to the Cavs—who received a first-round pick from the Clippers that turned into Kyrie Irving, mind you—he had one last hurrah before he was waived and signed his death wish with the Knicks.
Irrationally, let’s hope Boom Dizzle can defy the odds. And that there’s some unsuspecting, slightly naive team willing to give him a shot. That would be fun.
Rationally speaking, let’s prepare for Davis’ talk of a comeback to be just this—talk that qualifies only as self-foisted, incredibly whimsical, hopelessly optimistic musings.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
