<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Todd Ramasar, the agent for point guard Baron Davis, failed to make any headway while meeting with the Warriors on Thursday and believes that his client could opt out of his contract and become a free agent, according to The San Mateo County Times. "After sitting down with the Warriors organization (Thursday) regarding Baron's future, I don't know what direction the Warriors are going," Ramasar said. "Baron is adamant about remaining a Warrior but based on my conversations with the team (Thursday), we have to consider all of his options." Another source close to Davis claimed that there is a '50-50' chance that the All-Star will become a free agent this summer and pursue other offers. Davis will make $17.8 million next season if he elects not to opt out of the final year of the six-year pact he signed as a member of the New Orleans Hornets .</div> Source
There would be no surprise if Baron opts out, he's got to protect his bottom line. If he asks for the absolute max that proves he's all about the money. If you put together his old number "1" with his current number "5" it makes a dollar sign "$"
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Custodianrules2 @ May 10 2008, 05:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>There would be no surprise if Baron opts out, he's got to protect his bottom line. If he asks for the absolute max that proves he's all about the money. If you put together his old number "1" with his current number "5" it makes a dollar sign "$"</div> Hes just doing what 99% of other players in the league and almost all of us want to do; make as much money as possible. Athletes get a lot of crap for trying to get as much money as possible but would anyone you know decline a raise because they are making enough to live comfortably and they want to help their employer succeed? Hell no. I think its probably safe to assume Baron is looking for guaranteed years more than a large annual salary. I've been saying for months that I think Baron will opt out, take as long a contract as he can get (4-5 years) at a "reduced" price. Chauncy Billups got 5 years, 60.5 mil. Thats 12 mil a year average which is probably what Baron will shoot for though I doubt he gets 5 years. I'd bet that Baron would rather have a 4 year, 48 million dollar deal than a 2 year, 30 mil deal. He knows his stock is as high as its gonna get with his durability lately, leading a good team, having a good attitude, last year's playoffs, etc. Another year won't really convince teams to give him more money, if anything theres a big risk of him getting worse offers because he'll be another year older, another 82 games to get injured, etc.
where will that leave us? i'm kinda ignorant when it comes to the financial side of the NBA...as far as i know, that means that we free up $17 million this year, right? where would the money go?? what would our options be?? would we pick up a big name free agent?? elton brand maybe? most of you guys are more knowledgeable than myself, so what is your opinion?
I guess mod can combine this and another thread. No, it does not give us 17 mil caproom, because we are about 10 mils above caproom. So, if we do not resign him, we get about 7 mils caproom in theory. In addition, we have to resign both Biedrins and Monta. So, the way to use 7 mils caproom is by signing somebody with 7 mils caproom, then resign both players. Or, 10 mils trade exception also become a factor, and we may elect to use the exception instead. Even if Davis opts out and we do not resign him, we cannot get a big name star without sign-and-trading. Back to the real world... I don't see Warriors letting Davis go, because we cannot challenge PO without Davis. It would be a disaster if we let Davis go and get nobody to replace. And, I don't see Davis leaving to another team either. Because, he will most likely get the best deal with us, and he probably won't be in better situation then right now. My guess is that Davis wants max $ with around 5 years extension, and Mullin wants to resign him for $12 mils with 3 years. At the end, I believe they will fight over/under 15 mils per year with 4 years...
Agents always say that, it's just a bargaining tactic trying to scare the Warriors into making a fast deal. I still think he'll probably be back next year. I have some serious issues with Baron's game, and think he's a bit overrated at times, but unless they have a great PG ready to step in (not Monta), it'll be trouble.
Point guards are important, but when your point guard fails to run plays, I'd rather have Ellis in there instead of Baron. Besides, we need good big men first, then we can worry about scoring point guards. Frankly, I'd rather have a pass first guy that can play D and shoot when wide open. Baron is such a godawful volume shooter and he often fails to pass the ball, he becomes a questionable floor leader. If we're going to have those types of qualities by the point guard I'd rather have Jason Kidd. Awful shooter, but at least he passes and tries to play D unlike Baron at times. He's still got the Stevie Francis mentality.
If Baron opted out (I doubt he will leave that money on the table) wouldn't the Warriors have the opportunity to broker a sign and trade since they could give a larger deal than any other team? At this stage in his career Baron's stock is probably at a low point because of the young upcoming guards in the league and the fact he's not a franchise player anymore. Most of the teams in the playoffs already have high caliber point guards and the teams in the lottery are pretty much set at PG plus there's an influx of point guards in this years draft. At the end of the day Baron's best opportunity to play and win is Golden State. I'll repeat myself about this, but I don't see why the Warriors can't emulate the success New Orleans is having. Both teams have similar rosters and play an open court, uptempo game pace.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Shapecity @ May 14 2008, 09:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'll repeat myself about this, but I don't see why the Warriors can't emulate the success New Orleans is having. Both teams have similar rosters and play an open court, uptempo game pace.</div> Couple reasons; 1. NO has two very good big men. I am of the belief that David West has become overrated but hes still a solid player at 6'9-6'10 who can score a little on the block, finish inside, has the money jumpshot, and rebounds fairly well. Then you have Chandler who is a monster on the glass and on defense. IMO Biedrins and Chandler aren't too far apart. Chandler is a little better overall right now but I think Andris is a much better offensive player with his great pick and roll play and the good hands. Its also worth considering that Chandler was widely considered a huge bust when he was Beans' age. He only recently broke out. This gives you more hope for Andris' potential. We have no one who can be the "David West" though. Al Harrington is a 6'8-6'9 guy who can shot but his inside game is nowhere near David West's and hes mentally weak. Hes also not a very good rebounder (though he was better in the last half of the season last year). Wright still isn't ready. Barnes and Pietrus....lmao. 2. Baron can't run a team like Paul. Their scoring games might be comparable. Playoff Baron and Chris Paul are similar in that they can dominate scoring the ball and Baron might even be better at taking over in the playoffs when it comes to his own offense. But Baron can't wheel and deal like Paul can. Paul is elite. Baron is decent but not spectacular by any stretch. 3. The Hornets preach defense. Warriors are basically a layup line. IMO the Hornets aren't a dominant defensive team but they are pretty damn good when they want to be.
I have to agree with Run. Until we get more inside presence and start playing more balanced match-ups, we're going to give away free points from everywhere and shoot terrible %'s. We have to do something about our lack of ball movement and the way we can't defend the rim. Finding somebody better than Al Harrington is a start because he is not the most fundamentally sound forward on the defensive end or scoring inside. His only positives are that he can shoot from long distance, he can run, he doesn't give up on his own play, and he can be a good locker room presence. But the downside is he just plays too small, too selfishly, and too slow to fit an ideal position except for the bench. He doesn't make anyone better unless he's finishing plays, but he attempts to finish those plays from outside. He's also an assist destroyer. Harrington also doesn't rebound consistently in an entire season unless it's his own miss, he prefers to take charges rather than block shots, he's got average hand size, he doesn't have some of the nuances of the game down like when to dunk when to lay the ball up and which hand to use. He doesn't really pass the ball in situations where he should be passing it. He's not that athletic or coordinated like some people think he is as a power forward. He's not geared to be a consistent player because he starts from the outside in rather than the inside out. AH is a very useful player overall (as shooting big men are), but Don Nelson feels compelled to play him at PF and C simply because of height and meanwhile we're bombing 3's and failing to move the ball inside and out. I feel the same away about Harrington like I feel about Murphy and Dunleavy. They just don't have a position they can play full time because of their liabilities. I'd rather have an unspectacular one position role player that can hold the position down rather than an inconsistent tweener who has streak offense and mediocre D. It'd be great if we had another PF that just did the little things and started with defense. I wish we had another Clif Robinson. There's a guy that didn't rebound or score inside that well either, but he did the little things to make the team better such as passing, strong post D, and better weakside D than Murphy and Harrington combined. Having an all-around defensive star at the PF position would go such a long way...
I got mixed feelings about Baron Davis. Yeah he was overplayed into submission, but he was starting to look like Stephon Marbury this year where he was more concerned about averaging 20 points a game rather than finding other people within the flow of the game. Shouldn't a point guard know something about ball movement? What was Don Nelson doing in all of this? There was all this talk about, "BDiddy's got nobody to pass to", but what about when two other dudes are shooting 50% from the field that game and Baron is calling is own plays? Then there was that game where he put himself before the team and Don Nelson had to bench him. One game wouldn't have made a difference in making the playoffs, but Baron sure acted like he already gave up. I'm surprised he just didn't go to the IL and say he was injured for the rest of the season... I guess he was thinking about his contract. Who knows. I just don't trust Baron. He's been more affective than any of the other point guards in the last 5 years, but I just don't trust him to take up 30% of the entire team payroll or more. Plus, somebody's got to force Don Nelson to play with more size. When rebounding, defense, and ball movement is the problem, you don't send Pietrus and Harrington to play PF/C.
The Warriors might not have David West, but the Hornets don't have an explosive two-guard like Ellis. Those two cancel each other out with the impact they bring on offense. West primarily scores in the high pick and roll and not in the post. It comes down to PG play and knowing how to get the ball to your players in spots on the court where they can succeed. I know Baron is capable of it, but he needs to check his ego and choose his spots better. When the Warriors are all on the same page on offense they are tough to deal with, but when Baron dominates the ball and SJax gets 3 point happy the offense can go stagnant. Brandan Wright could be the missing piece at PF if he works hard this offseason and becomes a consistent 12/7 type player. I think Nelson needs to start defining player roles better and stop experimenting with his rotations.
I guess West and Ellis could cancel out because luckily for us Ellis happens to be one of the few who choose good high % shots. Ellis just doesn't cancel out West's rebounding. Ellis' the only guy on the perimeter that knows how to play a midrange game while shooting off the dribble. But that rebounding production has to come from somewhere besides Biedrins because Chandler and West can both rebound in double digits. Hopefully that guy who can provide consistent near double digit rebounding is Brandan Wright (our best shot at a big man being the "it" player we need to anchor down the paint). If Chris Bosh and Kevin Garnett can grab boards at 230, Wright ought to with his length and court awareness. Then maybe if Wright is the same high % shooter as Biedrins, it would cancel out Baron's lousy shot selection and Sjax's streaky offense game. One player can make that difference hopefully.
