Should the Cavs amnesty Baron Davis? (part 2)
2011-12-08
(Gotta love hipster Baron. Is Billy Hunter asleep???)
Note: I’m actually 100% in support of keeping Baron Davis. In the article below I am simply playing devil’s advocate. I actually managed to briefly convince myself, while writing this, that amnestying him was a good idea. I’ve come back to earth. Anyway, the point is, take this for what it is – an argument for argument’s sake.
As Kevin said yesterday, the NBA has, in the new CBA, agreed on a clause allowing every team to amnesty one player. This means that the team can wipe that player’s salary away from their cap. The team will continue to pay that player’s salary (minus whatever new deal the player receives over the same number of years) but that player’s finances would not count in the salary cap totals.
Again, as Kevin wrote yesterday, there seems to be consensus among NBA pundits that the Cleveland Cavaliers should and will amnesty Baron Davis. While Kevin makes some good points as to why Cleveland should keep Baron, I think he’s missing some of the real issues here:
First, although Baron is playing nice right now, that is not likely to last for long. As most NBA fans know, Baron Davis has never been a consistently great locker room guy, particularly on bad, untalented teams. The Cavs have ZERO chance of making the playoffs this year (and honestly, do we really want them to? They’re better off with a lottery pick.) and while Baron is saying all the right things right now, the moment the losses start piling up, I doubt he’ll be singing that same song. When Baron is unhappy, he is a team cancer. The last thing the Cavs need is dissension in the locker room, particularly with young, moldable minds like Irving and Thompson looking for leadership.
One of the most convincing arguments against amnestying Davis is his potential value next year as a trade asset (expiring contract, sometimes-decent player.) Unfortunately, I sincerely doubt he’ll be worth much on the open trade market. Remember, he’ll be 33 next year, will still be making a boatload of dough, and already has some serious reputation issues. The odds that the Cavs could get anything worthwhile in return are minimal, and probably not worth the potentially harmful effects he could have in the locker room.
It’s pretty clear the Cavs plan on starting Irving at PG this season, and behind him sits the always reliable Booby Gibson, as well as the stellar Ramon Sessions. Where does Baron Davis fit into this equation? Right now there is a log-jam at the PG position – there aren’t enough minutes to go around – and as a team building for the future, it seems silly to keep playing the 32 year old Davis over young, developing players like Sessions and Irving.
Finally, the Cavs have some GLARING holes to fill right now. A team with four point guards, four (or five, depending what you consider Harangody) power forwards (Anderson is hardly a true center) and a bunch of mediocre role players does not make for a promising season or future, even with the young blood the Cavs got in the off season. Varejao is coming off a major injury, Jamison is aging fast and has his own health problems, and three of the Cavs starters are new to the team and are still very young and unproven. Considering what the Cavs need (a starting SG, some insurance at center) and what this free agency market has (some decent, young, low priced SGs such as Aaron Afflalo and Nick Young, a lot of depth at the center position) the Cavs should take this as an opportunity to build for the future. Add in the fact that this NBA draft is top heavy on forwards and light on SGs, and some mild Cavs activity for this FA period seems like a no brainer.
Baron Davis is by no means a terrible player – in his younger days, when he was on, he had the talent to be a legitimately good starter, if not a star. But I am certain that his personality, combined with the Cavs ineptitude, make this a perfect use for the Amnesty Clause.
@matt I don’t think Afflalo is worth that much, nor would I be giving him a second look for that kind of money. He is a daren’t SG, but there is no way he takes us from the lottery to the playoffs
If the Cavaliers could land afflalo this offseason by amnestying davis and paying him the $8.5 million/yr they could afford under the cap then they should have done it yesterday. They would not be able to get him for that much though, He’ll be making north of $10m a year when he signs his next contract. That being the case, he’s really the only FA I would want for more than mid level money, Nick young is too flawed and all the other decent FA’s are too old for our rebuilding. But really, afflalo would be too good, we would… Read more »
Great point about Davis playing for his next contract. On that basis alone I would rather we keep him around and deal sessions. Booby is a capable third PG
Maybe a bit of hyperbole? He’s shown a LOT of promise, and he’s 25. Lots of room to grow
Just trying to tell if the “stellar Ramon Sessions” line was in jest, or what?
Disagree. Davis’ attitude goes with the fanbase energy. He was never a problem in GS, and had a great month attitude-wise with the Cavs. He’s also at least said all the right things this off-season.
Unlike in the past, Baron is playing for his legacy now, and I really beleive like most of us, he’s gained some perspective as he’s gotten older.
It’s highly unlikely Miami would have a shot at Davis. Because they have no cap room, they wouldn’t be able to make an offer until he cleared waivers (or whatever it is we’re calling the post-amnestying period where teams with cap can offer). You’re telling me a team like the Warriors, Kings, or even the Wizards (to help mentor Wall and come off the bench?!) wouldn’t offer the guy a couple million over 2 years to come? I’m sure he’d get signed before the Heat had a chance.
If the amnesty were a buyout we wouldn’t even be debating this…Baron would be gone. But that’s not the case.
The potential for him being at least decent at the trade deadline is a much better prospect than dumping him now for nothing. The financial impact is still there even if not against cap. Add to that the fact that Miami is interested in him and Cavs ownership wants nothing to do with helping them. Can you imagine paying the bulk of his salary while he and Lebron gun for a championship?
The Cavaliers point guard situation is, frankly, in really good shape. This includes the caveat, also, that they don’t trade Sessions-unless, of course, they are presented an offer they can’t refuse. As long as Gilbert/Grant are willing to absorb the financial implications, I can’t see a better scenario for Irving than to mentor under Davis for the next year or so, and then for Davis to likely be traded next year(in the same vein that Jamison will likely be traded this year) when Davis’ trade value will be at it’s peak, because of the value of his expiring contract. In… Read more »
Nice write up Mallory, I agree with your points… for the most part. Baron has historically been a cancer in lockerrooms. However, like Kevin suggest, he’s playing for his next contract. He won’t be ready to retire at 33 so he’ll be looking for one last pay day around the mid-level exception so proving a) he can stay in shape, b) he still has something left in the tank, and c) he’s a good teammate and can ‘mentor’/show leadership to young guys. He took some big steps towards this last year wih his on-court performance and his work with Hollins.… Read more »
I think if he proves to be a positive in ANY area (as a scorer, passer, locker room guy, team chef…literally anything) he’ll be shipped out for a mid to late first rounder faster than you can say hipster (I’m really not letting that go)
But ya, I’m really not sure what he’ll be like in that locker room, especially with the log jam that’s about to happen at the point. I guess we’ll see in a few weeks.
Good post, Mallory! I see we are battling (just kidding).
At some point in the future this could be regrettable commentary, but I think Baron Davis should be a good teammate and player for the next 17 months. He has typically been awesome when he’s nearing his next contract. The next year and a half is Davis’ chance to stake a claim that an NBA team should sign him to one more decent contract.