Baron Davis traded to CLE

[tripolie atche]

ESPN

The Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed in principle to a trade that would send Baron Davis and the Clippers' 2011 first-round draft pick to Cleveland in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon, league sources confirmed to ESPN.com.

The deal saves the Clippers considerable money the next two seasons while giving them a younger point guard who made the All-Star team while playing with LeBron James.

Davis is still owed nearly $28 million over the next two seasons and the balance of his $13 million contract this year. Moon's contract expires after this season. Williams is owed the balance of his $9.3 million salary this season and, with player options of $8.5 million for each of the next two years, could potentially get out of his contract altogether. The savings should give the Clippers more flexibility in free agency the next two seasons.

The Clippers would give up a likely top-10 lottery pick to make the savings happen. "That just shows you how much we hate this draft," one Clippers source told ESPN.com.

For the Cavs, they would get a veteran who, when he's engaged, is one of the top point guards in the league. But will Davis be engaged on a team with the worst record in the NBA?

"Baron won't be happy," said a GM who has had past dealings with Davis. "This is a worst-case scenario for him. He was just starting to get happy in L.A. playing with [Clippers rookie] Blake Griffin. There's not much to get excited about in Cleveland these days."

The trade agreement is a revival of discussions that began over the summer, when the Cavaliers scrambled to upgrade their talent to appease James, but ultimately collapsed when Clippers owner Donald Sterling nixed the deal.

good deal for both teams as LAC gets Baron's contract off the books & maybe they could go after Chris Paul or even Deron Williams, despite his trade to NJ, to go along with Blake Griffin & Eric Gordon

for CLE, they now have at least a top 10 pick in this year's draft to go along with their own 1st round pick, which should be in the top 5

 

[Theo Mays]

I like the trade for both teams. Neither of them is going anywhere this year and with the Clippers being so young I think they can afford to lose a first pick. Davis had a hefty contract and the Clips needed to rid themselves of it. Mo Williams is a good PG and can get hot some nights and put up some points. I think he'll work well with Gordon and Griffin. Moon also is a good role player who is pretty expendable.

As for the Cavs, they get a good PG who is better when he is on his game. The real move for the Cavs is acquiring that first round pick. I agree with the Clips insider who isn't a fan of this draft, as I am not either. But if the Cavs can manage to land two good players with their picks they can start building up for the future after Lebron.

 

[Big Sexy]

Good trade for both teams. The Clippers get to save a lot of money and open the door for the young Eric Bledsoe to take over the starting point guard duties. They have enough young pieces and top picks in place where the loss of the draft pick isn't the end of the world for them.

For Cleveland they will now have two likely top 10 picks in the draft and one will most likely be top 5. While Baron Davis still has 2 years left on his contract I actually think he could help that team. Mo Williams wasn't a true point guard and neither is Ramon Sessions so they know have that with B Diddy. Let's also not forget that Davis is one of the most talented point guards in the league. Byron Scott is the type of coach that could possibly get him to play up to that talent. It's not a guarantee but it's worth a shot.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Like the rest of you, I agree this is a good deal for both sides. It frees up cap space for the Clippers, especially if they don't pick up the option on Mo Williams. I'm sure they can lure some free agents in L.A. now with Blake playing like the way he is also, Gordon and Bledsoe playing quite well. Future looks good for this young Clipper team. I agree with Sexy, the loss of the draft pick isn't a big deal, they just need a little veteran help before they are an all around legit team.

For Baron, if he keeps his mouth shut on the trade and goes to Cleveland to just play, and looks impressive for the rest of the season, he might be able to get traded to a contender in the off season, barring he re-works his contract a little. Cleveland could get some more picks or younger picks for Davis. Key thing is he would have to re-work his contract, which he probably would if it was to the right team.

 

[HiddenInPlainView]

The biggest loser in this trade is Baron Davis. For the first time since coming to the Clippers he was starting to actually seem like he was interested in playing. Blake Griffin totally re-energized him. When he feels like playing and is in shape Davis is one of the top 10 point guards in the league. Now he goes to the worst team in the league and to a coach that he already has had issues with when they were in New Orleans together. The only numbers of Davis' that are going to go up now are his lbs.

 

[Tech N9ne]

Actually, I don't think this was a good deal for Cleveland. Finally the Clippers got the better end of a trade! lol

BD was already having a weird year. I don't think he will go to Cleveland, flip a switch, and be ferocious. I actually think this will end up being a bad deal for The Cavs. I can see Baron trying to be traded as soon as THIS summer.

There has always been talk of his lack of motivation at times, and even though The Clippers aren't in any position to win a Championship this year, he would have more motivation in striving to make The Clippers a good team since L.A. is his home.

So, I actually find it hard to believe he gets traded to a worse team, across the country, and totally has a new attitude. This will probably end up being a disaster as far as team chemistry goes.

I would love for Baron to turn it on and reach that All Star level he was branded with as early as his high school days. I think for some people, stardom, money, contracts and what not, have always been a given, at least to them. So, some of those same people find it hard to be motivated and push themselves to put forth maximum effort at all times, since just about everything has come so easy to them, at least relating to their basketball career.

 

[Big Sexy]

Actually, I don't think this was a good deal for Cleveland. Finally the Clippers got the better end of a trade! lol

BD was already having a weird year. I don't think he will go to Cleveland, flip a switch, and be ferocious. I actually think this will end up being a bad deal for The Cavs. I can see Baron trying to be traded as soon as THIS summer.

There has always been talk of his lack of motivation at times, and even though The Clippers aren't in any position to win a Championship this year, he would have more motivation in striving to make The Clippers a good team since L.A. is his home.

So, I actually find it hard to believe he gets traded to a worse team, across the country, and totally has a new attitude. This will probably end up being a disaster as far as team chemistry goes.

I would love for Baron to turn it on and reach that All Star level he was branded with as early as his high school days. I think for some people, stardom, money, contracts and what not, have always been a given, at least to them. So, some of those same people find it hard to be motivated and push themselves to put forth maximum effort at all times, since just about everything has come so easy to them, at least relating to their basketball career.

How could this in any way be a bad trade for Cleveland? Even if Baron Davis doesn't play a game for the Cavs they still got a 1st round pick that is almost certainly going to be a top ten pick and all they gave up were two players that are going to be gone next year regardless. Jamario Moon is a free agent after this season and Mo Williams has an early termination option. Basically Cleveland traded 12 million dollars (Baron Davis's money owed for next year) for a top 10 pick in the draft. Anything they get out of Davis either on the court or in another trade is just an added bonus.

 

[HiddenInPlainView]

How could this in any way be a bad trade for Cleveland? Even if Baron Davis doesn't play a game for the Cavs they still got a 1st round pick that is almost certainly going to be a top ten pick and all they gave up were two players that are going to be gone next year regardless. Jamario Moon is a free agent after this season and Mo Williams has an early termination option. Basically Cleveland traded 12 million dollars (Baron Davis's money owed for next year) for a top 10 pick in the draft. Anything they get out of Davis either on the court or in another trade is just an added bonus.

I don't necessarily see this as a good move for Cleveland just because of the draft picks. I think the fact that both the Clippers and Nets would send potential Top 10 picks in trades without any sort of lottery protection shows what GM's think of this year's draft class. Most GM's are calling this a very weak draft with not many true impact players.

 

[Big Sexy]

I don't necessarily see this as a good move for Cleveland just because of the draft picks. I think the fact that both the Clippers and Nets would send potential Top 10 picks in trades without any sort of lottery protection shows what GM's think of this year's draft class. Most GM's are calling this a very weak draft with not many true impact players.

It all depends on who decides to leave early but regardless, if you have two top 10 picks and one of them is most likely a top 5 pick then your chances of finding an impact player greatly increase. Besides, what exactly did they give up? Like I said they're going to have an extra 12 million dollars on their payroll for a year but trust me they weren't going to get any impact free agents this offseason anyways. Now they have two very high draft picks and in the summer of 2012 the contracts of Davis and Antawn Jamison come off the books. They will be able to go into that summer well under the cap and with the ability to tell potential free agents that they have a bright future with two top draft picks about to go into their second year. I'm not really seeing a negative for Cleveland. All they gave up was two expiring contracts. They, in essence, lost absolutely nothing.