Baron Davis?

[ammofan]

Again on RealGM they are reporting that BARON DAVIS, the former face of the NBA in Charlotte for quite some time, will opt out of his contrct in Golden State. Now this could mean that he just gets a bigger contract in Golden State, but it could also mean that he wants out of town.
Would anyone want Baron "Boomdizzle" Davis back in Charlotte. I would. I know this involves probably trading Felton but Baron Davis is a very good Point Guard and great team leader.
Also if we were to trade Felton we may be able to get another pick in the Lottery this season.

[ohara831]

Ray will never be what Barron is as a PG.

[MattD]

see what most people fail to understand is why on earth would Baron want to come to Charlotte? We are not that good, "building"

Baron is sick, but if he wanted to go somewhere, he would probably go somewhere with a bigger market that was better right? Hey, I sure wouldnt say no, and it would give us a reason to ship Felts out.

[amour217]

I'd rather have Baron Zemo

[ziggy]

A healthy and motivated B-Diddy is a sight to behold on the basketball court, and reuniting him and J-Rich would be cool. I'd love to see it, but if he leaves Golden State, I see him trying to find his way into a big market.

[mrtarheel]

If I'm not mistaken Baron Davis dissed the city of Charlotte when the left. He said that it was to small and he wanted to go back to the west coast. He is an all star caliber play but he has had an injury prone career. Remember the back problems.

[TheLegend]

I really don't want him here anyway. As you guys know LB will be on Ray back and strighting him up.

[TheBeagle]

If I'm not mistaken Baron Davis dissed the city of Charlotte when the left. He said that it was to small and he wanted to go back to the west coast. He is an all star caliber play but he has had an injury prone career. Remember the back problems. You may be right, but I remember it this way:

BD wasn't thrilled at all about coming here as a rook' when the Hornets drafted him in '99. He found out that former Lakers Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell were on the team, and add that to the fact he didn't want to pull a Steve Francis and be an ass by refusing to play for the team that drafted him, so he warmed up to the idea. He grew to love it here and was looking to buy a house when he re-signed longterm in '02 or '03, I don't remeber, but obviously things happened and there was no Charlotte Hornets after '02. I distinctly remember his disappointment that the team was leaving for NO, but he knew it was a business, and he'd try to make it work in NO, and that's where he was miserable, prompting the trade to GS.

I'd love nothing more than to have BD back in town. Like I mentioned on another thread, I was a late comer Charlotte Hornets fan (after my ugly divorce from the Hawks in '94...fucking Danny Manning for 'Nique trade>:(), but he was just a blast to watch. I'll never forget the vicious slam he had over KG as a rookie up in Minnesota...a facial of epic proportions, and the whole bench just exploded! I'd take him back in a second, but, alas, it's much more likely we win the lottery than be reunited with BD.

No matter, he'll always be one of my all time favs regardless of where he winds up.

[mrtarheel]

BD is one of my favorites also but with his injuries we can't afford to go after him. Ray isn't an all star but he hasn't missed many games. (physically some mentally) Give him a year with LB and we'll see what we have. Pg is not our weekest point we should go after bigs. The only pg's we should be looking at this year are backups and a serviceable vet with more size than 5' what"

[dav7z]

I LIKE B. D but its's no way i want him hear . Felton for the MONEY is a much better option. We are ok at point guard on the cheap. We really need to adress a P/F.

[Mustachio]

I LIKE B. D but its's no way i want him hear . Felton for the MONEY is a much better option. We are ok at point guard on the cheap. We really need to adress a P/F.


thank you. we need to address the GLARING needs in this team before we try upgrading a decent position. and were not that wealthy.

[Muttley]

thank you. we need to address the GLARING needs in this team before we try upgrading a decent position. and were not that wealthy.


Seriously. Especially when that need has been "glaring" for as long as PF has been for us. Let's take baby steps.

[BobCatsFanInTx]

A healthy and motivated B-Diddy is a sight to behold on the basketball court, and reuniting him and J-Rich would be cool. I'd love to see it, but if he leaves Golden State, I see him trying to find his way into a big market.
He really has few options if he opts out. We are one of them but I doubt the Bobcats organization is willing to give up on Felton until they have had a real chance to see how he performs in a full season as pg of the team. Maybe the organization is thinking bigger in terms of making moves to improve the team but I somehow doubt it.
__________________________________________________ _____________________________

Baron Davis Headed Out!

By: Preetom Bhattacharya Last Updated: 5/13/08 12:13 AM ET


The Golden State Warriors headed into their 2007-08 season knowing that more than half of the team was playing for a new contract.

Baron Davis wasn't supposed to be one of them.

Whereas Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes, Kelenna Azubuike, Austin Croshere, and Patrick O'Bryant were all slated for some form of free agency, Davis squashed any doubt that he'd play out the remaining two years on his contract.

Davis has an option for the 2008-09 season but on Media Day in October, he made it clear that he intended to stick with the Warriors. "I've got two more years on my deal," he said at the time. "I'm in a position here where I feel we can do some great things. I just want to lead this team. The season's starting now and my whole concentration and focus is on making us a better team than we were last season."

As the season of posturing for contracts begins in the NBA, so too has the time for players to change their minds regarding previously accepted comments.

As reported by the Contra Costa Times last week, Davis' agent, Todd Ramasar, met with Warriors officials and was not satisfied with the progress on potential extension talks. Ramasar told the Times that talks went so poorly that Davis may choose to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Warriors and become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

"After sitting down with the Warriors organization regarding Baron's future, I don't know what direction the Warriors are going," he told the paper. "Baron is adamant about remaining a Warrior but based on my conversations with the team, we have to consider all of his options."

Should Davis opt out of his deal, he'd be leaving $17.8-million on the proverbial table as he searches for a new deal.

The Warriors have been playing hardball with their free agents for a while now, choosing to keep Barnes, Pietrus, and Biedrins waiting on any long-term deals. But why do so with the bearded face of their franchise in Davis?

Last season notwithstanding, Davis has dealt with an array of injuries throughout his career, undoubtedly a concern for Golden State as it's impossible to build a team around a franchise player that can't stay on the court.

Having missed at least 15 games due to injuries in five of his last six seasons, recalling Davis' injuries over the past few seasons is like taking a tour through the human anatomy: out 13 games with a calf injury, 3 games with a strained rib muscle, 19 games with a sprained right ankle, 17 games with an Achilles injury, 18 games with a back injury .. Stiffness in his left knee has been a problem since Davis tore his ACL in college and the knee has been operated on multiple times.

The cautiousness the Warriors are displaying with Davis may be prudent, but in so doing they're alienating their star player and sending a bad message to the team and other potential free agents: are the Warriors willing to 'take care of their players' in the long run? Although it isn't fair to assess the situation in such a blanket manner (especially when one considers that the Warriors dished out $100-million in contract extensions to Adonal Foyle, Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, and Mike Dunleavy, Jr.), Davis is the top dog in the Bay Area and is expected to be treated with an added amount of respect and entitlement in comparison to others.

Such is the life of an NBA superstar.

The likelihood of Davis actually going anywhere, though, is low.

The leverage belongs to the team, as Davis' decision to opt out won't leave him with many options in the free agent market, forcing him to return to the team that can pay him the most in the Warriors. Only Philadelphia, (Charlotte,) Chicago, and Memphis are slated to have more cap space than the Warriors and each team has their own free agency concerns (Andre Iguodala, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng) or doesn't need a point guard (Memphis, with three young prospects in Mike Conley, Javaris Crittenton, and Kyle Lowry).

So a player that averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds last season may actually be forced into a contract situation he isn't particularly comfortable with: either play out the 2008-09 season and try to get a career-finishing deal next summer, sign a perhaps undervalued contract extension now, or take less money to leave an organization he has uplifted from the dregs of the league.

Adding to the team's leverage is that the team will have significant options should Davis leave. Aside from the big free-agents like Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Andre Iguodala, the Warriors could make a play for young players still looking to fulfill their potential like Jose Calderon, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, or Josh Smith with the added cap space delivered by Davis' departure.

Because Davis has few options in leaving the Warriors, it just doesn't make sense that he and his agent would do so. The recent comments made are likely just an attempt to get a better extension as the deadline for Davis to opt out (June 30th) slowly approaches.