Baron & Brand will (NOT) be Teammates
July 1, 2008 by Evil E
I want to hear what Baron has to say about this…
In a surprise move, both Baron Davis and Elton Brand opted out of their contracts on Monday, making both superstars unrestricted free agents.
Davis was scheduled to make $17.8 million and Brand was scheduled to make $16.4 million next season. Instead, both men will be looking to secure new long term deals over the summer.
I was shocked when I first heard the news, but now it’s all starting to make sense. Move over Kobe: the Clippers have a new dynamic duo.
Why do I think so? Let me count the ways…
#1. West Coast = Best Coast
I’ve spent my share of time up and down California, and there are many things that I love about this state. But I’ll just refer you to “Pacific Heights” by Pep Love, because I couldn’t say it any better.
Baron Davis was born and raised in Los Angeles and starred at UCLA. He did his thing in New Orleans for awhile, but he came back to Cali to bring some excitement back to Oakland.
BD: “I know what’s in my heart and the people in the Bay Area know what’s in my heart.”
The Bay Area loves Baron and he’s given plenty of love back. Unfortunately, I think the only place he loves more lies 372 miles southeast.
Elton Brand was an East Coast guy for awhile (born in New York, went to Duke), but he’s been a Cali Clipper for the past 7 years (after a breezy layover in Chicago) and his roots might be firmly planted now. His wife is expecting a boy in October, and you don’t spend 7 years in the Golden State without realizing how sweet it is.
EB: “It’s just trying to solidify my future and work things out with the Clippers. I’ve got a lot of going on.”
New York, Miami, and Philly are rumored destinations, but it’s not gonna happen. Baron & Brand want to stay on the West Coast, and I don’t mean Portland.
#2. If Boston Can Do It, Maybe They Can 2
Brand recently made a visit to Boston for Game 2 of the NBA Finals and liked what he saw.
David Falk (Brand’s agent): “He watched what happened when a few stars get together and agree to have a communal effort. He said, ‘That’s what I’d like to accomplish in my career.’”
What the Boston 3 Party (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett & Ray Allen) accomplished was a definite feel good story. It was easy to root for the 3 veterans because they had previously been loyal faces of their franchises thru thick and thin. Let’s throw Sam Cassell and PJ Brown into this as well, because you can just tell that all of them are good human beings (Allen won the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award for ‘02-03 and Brown won the award for ‘03-04).
The ‘05-06 winner? Elton Brand.
Originally presented following the 1995-96 season, the Sportsmanship Award honors a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court — ethical behavior, fair play and integrity. The trophy is named for former Detroit Pistons guard and Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, the award’s first recipient.
EB represents all of those things and more. Garnett, Duncan, and Brand are probably the most well-respected power forwards in the game today. Those two guys got their rings, so maybe Brand can too.
Similarly, Baron Davis is well-respected by fans and fellow players all around the league (altho not so much by coaches it seems, as evidenced by his All-Star snub). Magic Johnson used to run a summer celebrity charity event in LA, but he handed the torch over to Baron and Pierce (hmm, another Championship connection) a couple of years ago.
Baron & Brand talk to each other all of the time, so don’t think for a second that they haven’t entertained the idea of taking pay cuts to play with each other and possibly pull off what Boston did this past season. Even if they can’t find a 3rd superstar to join them, Kaman is a quality center and they should be able to trade Corey Maggette for a nice talent. Nice guys don’t always finish last…
#3. Movie Producers
Of course, Baron’s goals & desires go way beyond merely winning an NBA title. He wants to make a DIFFERENCE. In case you haven’t heard, he recently teamed up with Dogtown and Z-Boys director Stacy Peralta to produce Made in America, a documentary about gangs in South Central Los Angeles (his stomping grounds).
The documentary was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January and received rave reviews. When asked who the movie is intended for, Davis responded: “The Bloods. The Crips. Lawmakers. The School Board. Corporate America. Humanitarians. Our Generation.”
Brand is also a film aficionado (favorites include Casablanca and A Clockwork Orange) who became interested in producing movies. Last summer, Rescue Dawn was released, a film produced by Elton Brand and directed by Werner Herzog. The highly regarded film stars Christian Bale and is an adaptation of Herzog’s 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly.
EB: “They wanted to do a feature film. Werner Herzog was attached to the project - I did some research on him, and he’s a great director. And they already had Christian Bale…. I mean, we would be making a film with Batman!”
I still haven’t seen Rescue Dawn, but I have seen Little Dieter and highly recommend it. Some people are only familiar with Herzog from the hilariously fascinating Grizzly Man movie, but the guy is an incredibly prolific, unique, and versatile filmmaker. Some other Werner Herzog films that I recommend include:
Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970 - One of the craziest films you will ever see)
Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972 - A wild adventure to say the least)
Burden of Dreams (1982 - Reflections on pulling a steamboat over a mountain)
EB: “When you’re in L.A. for six years, you get a lot of opportunities. I was intrigued by producing movies.”
#4. Secret Agent Connection
This is merely speculation on my behalf, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Baron’s agent (Todd Ramasar) and Brand’s agent (David Falk) have already secretly discussed ways to bring the 2 superstars together.
If you look at Ramasar’s website, it says that he “honed his skills with SFX Sports Group” before creating his own company, Life Sports Management. Further research brings up Ramasar’s LinkedIn profile, which says that he was an Assistant Sports Agent with SFX Sports Group from July ‘99 - August ‘02.
The legendary David Falk is regarded as the most influential player agent the NBA has ever seen. He helped turn Michael Jordan into an icon of unfathomable proportions and has represented nearly 100 NBA players over the years. From 1999-2001, Falk served as Chairman of SFX Sports Group, and by 2002, SFX represented 1/3 of the players in the NBA.
Needless to say, Falk is a powerful man with countless connections… including Ramasar. I’m willing to bet big money that Baron’s agent and Brand’s agent have been in contact recently, and if that’s the case, they could certainly have some kind of secret plan already in place.
#5. Monta, Biedrins, and Maggette
As a longtime Warriors fan, I love what Baron has done for the organization, but Monta Ellis & Andris Biedrins are more important right now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like they have enough money to keep both youngsters AND give Baron the lucrative long-term contract that he wants and deserves, so they must make a decision.
Even if Golden St. managed to keep Baron and make the playoffs next season, they wouldn’t have a realistic chance at making it to the NBA Finals. The Warriors are still extremely young, and their best shot at a championship is 5+ years away, when Ellis & Biedrins (and hopefully Belinelli, Wright, Randolph, and Hendrix) will be entering their primes.
Baron & Brand are in their primes NOW, so it makes sense that they’d want to play together and contend for a title. Meanwhile, I firmly believe that Monta has the potential to be a much more dominant player than Baron. If you think that’s a ridiculous statement, you’re sleeping on the “Mississippi Bullet.”
As for Maggette, he too is an unrestricted free agent and the chances of him returning to Los Angeles are slim to none, so the Clippers should have some extra money to throw at Davis & Brand. When you factor in all of these things, it seems pretty clear to me…
Baron Davis & Elton Brand are going to be teaming up for the Clippers next season.
[NEWSFLASH: The Washington Post is reporting that the Warriors have contacted Gilbert Arenas and offered him a max-level contract!!! WTF?!? All I can say is, this better be a false report, or I might be a Clippers fan next season.]
you are the man
from ROTOWORLD
Report: Baron Davis agrees to deal with Clips
The L.A. Times reports that the Clippers have reached a verbal agreement with Baron Davis on a new contract. Davis’ agent Todd Ramasar confirmed the news, though the deal cannot be finalized until July 9th.
The deal is expected to be for roughly five years and $65 million, a decent value in this market. Ramasar mentions playing with Elton Brand as a selling point for the Clippers, so Brand looks likely to stay. Corey Maggette is as good as gone. Davis’ numbers are bound to be hurt some after leaving the Warriors’ high-flying attack. Jul. 1 - 8:49 pm et
Source: LA Times
Hey, thanks man.
I started putting the pieces together last night and it just made perfect sense. I’m not mad at Baron at all, but Mullin & Co. need to pull their heads out of their asses.
I can’t believe their backup plan was to offer Arenas $100 million. Are you kidding me? The guy has serious knee issues and already showed how much loyalty he has when he bolted for Washington for more money. Boy, am I glad he’s returning to the Wizards, because I guarantee you that he would have become jealous of Monta sooner or later.
What do the Warriors do now? Securing Monta and Biedrins would be a good idea, but they don’t seem to be in much of a hurry to do that.
One trade rumor going around is Harrington to Chicago for Hinrich. It makes sense for both parties I guess, but I wouldn’t want to take on Kirk’s fat contract (4 years, $36.5 million). They do need a solid defender & playmaker to team up with Monta, but a guy with a little more size would be nice.
How about the guy Baron is replacing?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON has the size (6-7. 185) and playmaking abilities, and can be had for cheap since he’s such a huge injury risk.
But at this point, the Warriors need to take a risk, and I’d rather gamble a few million on Livingston than 100 mill on Gilbert. If he beefs up, he can defend 2 guards while Monta guards the point. Neither are good 3-point shooters, but that’s where Belinelli comes into play. If Shaun returns to pre-injury form and Marco develops other areas of his game (big ifs I know), that could be one of the top guard rotations in the league a few years down the road.
Want another cheap free agent suggestion?
CARLOS ARROYO has been a disappointment ever since he schooled Team USA, but I think he’s a solid backup PG. He’s a poor defender, but hey, the Warriors don’t play defense anyway, right? When Arroyo plays for Puerto Rico, he’s so free & creative, and his game excels. In the NBA, he’s had to play with more structure and that’s limited his strengths. But if the Warriors let him run and gun like he loves to do, he could really help help them out as an energy guy off the bench.
Does Mullin have anything up his sleeve? I doubt it.
On the flipside, the Clippers are going to do some serious damage next season. Their top 6 of Baron - Mobley - Gordon - Thornton - Brand - Kaman is loaded with offensive firepower. Knight is a decent backup PG and Tim Thomas can shoot threes off the bench. Now they just need a lockdown perimeter defender (bring Q-Ross back?), and a proven backup center (old man Mutombo?). That’s a solid rotation right there.
There’s no way they let Ross walk. He IS the teams perimeter defense. He’s one of the reasons Corey Maggette hates being a Clippers player.
Maggette: How’s this motherfucker Ross starting in front of me.
Dunleavy: He plays D
Maggette: Maaaaan fuck that shit. 20ppg, 10ftpg! I’m the man.
Dunleavy: You’re a matador. For every bucket you get you give up two.
Maggette: I hit the backboard bitch!
Dunleavy: Have fun getting the splinters out your ass punk.
Maggette: :sulk:
That said Maggette is going to fucking BALL next year.
what do you think about Brent Barry going to the Warriors? 6-7, can run the point no problem. Bombs 3’s all day, rebounds, passes, handles, etc. He’s an all around player. Old in the tooth but he was shittin on the Lakers in the WCF’s when the Spurs started running..
Some championship experience and bloodlines.
Good call on Barry. I’ve always liked Bonz. He obviously has Bay ties and it could be cool for him to retire as a Warrior. So yeah, if he’s willing to join a non-contender, he’s worth contacting. For the most part, I think the Warriors should be looking for young, underrated talents (Walter Hermann?), but they need a couple of veteran leaders as well.
I agree with you on Maggette. If he lands in the right situation, he could do big things next year.
As for the Clippers needing a backup center, forget Mutombo, they should go after ALONZO MOURNING! Baron & Brand could probably convince him to sign cheap.
PG: Baron / Brevin
SG: Mobley / Gordon
SF: Thornton / Ross
PF: Brand / Thomas
C: Kaman / Mourning
That squad is NO JOKE.
Waltaah Hermann!
that fool is perfect for Don Nelson. That shit he did with the Bobs to end 2007 was no fluke. He was destroying the NBA for a month getting some real burn.
They get him for the LLE or VM, they could move Harrington..
..and now the LA Times is saying Brand to the Warriors is a DONE DEAL.
Where do you see that? I only see that they made him an OFFER.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/clippers/la-sp-clips3-2008jul03,0,2410090.story
Yo E! Not really related, but I gotta get my Mavs some help. Would a sign-and-trade work with Atlanta? Mavs get Josh Childress and possibly someone like Zaza for Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse. I love Childress’ game, and I think he’d be a good 2 guard/backup to J-Ho. Tried using the Trade Machine, but it doesn’t work without contract info for restricted free agents.
For your boys, what do you think of Louie Williams from PHI? Would he make a good backcourt teamed up with Monta Ellis? Or Kyle Lowry? Which would work better in Nellie’s system?
Sup JJ?
The Mavs don’t need any help, they just signed Gerald Green.
It makes sense to bring back Diop, but they essentially have the same roster plus 2 new swingmen: Green & Shan Foster. Good luck if they think they can win with that.
I like your trade proposal, but I’m not sure if Atlanta would go for that. Teaming up Terry w/ Joe Johnson is intriguing, but I think they’d rather keep J-Chill. Terry also has $41 million over 4 years left, so I don’t think salaries would match up. But yeah, I think Dallas needs to make some kind of move just to shake things up a bit. Maybe they can sucker someone into taking Dampier off their hands…
I’m a big fan of Louis Williams. If you checked out my Dunk stats piece, you saw that he was #2 in dunks by players under 6-4, after Monta of course. And I’m sure you’ve all seen this play where he blocks Okur and then finishes with the alley-oop:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rFn6W8OX0S4
That play tells you a lot about his athleticism, but I’m pretty sure Philly is going to match any offer for him. Plus, he’s a small dude. He’s barely strong enough to guard PG’s, let alone SG’s. Andre Miller is big enough to guard 2’s, so it works for Philly, but I really think Monta needs to defend PG’s only.
Kyle Lowry is only 6-0, but at least he’s strong for his size and a solid defender. The problem with him is he can’t shoot threes, which is a weakness for Monta as well. So I don’t think they’d be a good pair. But Lowry is definitely on the block and I like his toughness.
Back to Philly for a second… if they somehow manage to sign J-Smoov and re-sign Lou, WATCH OUT!
Looks like you were wrong after all. Baron must be pissssssssed.
I guess so… I thought Brand would have more loyalty. Money talks tho.
From Philly’s standpoint, if giving Brand all this money prevents them from re-signing Louis Williams, I don’t like it. They must think they can win the East NOW. Andre Miller is 32 and Brand is 29. Personally, I thought going after Josh Smith (22) and trying to re-sign Lou Will (21) made more sense. Then they could have peaked at the same time as Iggy and THEN Philly could have brought in a veteran to put them over the hump. Instead, they’re risking their future (who will replace Dre?) to win now.
Chris Mullin is a sucka for giving Maggette $50 million over 5 years.
“Golden State apparently offered more money and a longer term than most of Maggette’s suitors, who mostly couched their offers at the mid-level salary cap exception.”
Nice job of overreacting Mullin! Do you realize that Maggette turns 29 on November 12th and that he’ll be well past his prime when his deal is up? I’d say that the Xzibit look-alike is worth $20 million over 3 years and no mas. And it’s not like the Warriors are going to be contenders over the next 3 years. So does it really make sense to blow your extra money on a player that’s neither going to make you a contender nor help your team in the long run? So the Warriors will win a few extra games now…big deal. They’re still not gonna do anything in the playoffs and now they have no extra loot to go after a future star. Brilliant!
Of course, they’re still in a better position than the Clippers it seems. Unless the Clipps manage to sign J-Smoov, they’re going to be in for a long season. Oh well, at least Baron is home now.
I thought my plan (Baron & Brand team up to take LAC far in the playoffs, the 76ers team up Iggy & J-Smoov to be a dominant duo 4 years from now, the Warriors spend their money wisely to rebuild around Monta) made sense for all teams, but what do I know? The best laid plans often go awry anyway.
Meanwhile… I love Orlando’s decision to sign Pietrus for the MLE. 3 years from now, he’s going to be a better player than Maggette. AND he’s younger & cheaper.
Turiaf 4 years $16 million ain’t bad. He’s a Jason MAxiell type. Blocks shots, decent J, lots of energy…
Overpaying for Maggette when it wasn’t needed is fucked up tho.
Biedrins & Turiaf is a nice 1-2 center combo…but that means the Warriors still need to sign Monta & Andris! I heard a rumor that Biedrins is going to take the 1-year qualifying offer and become an unrestricted FA next summer. Noooooooo!!!
Meanwhile…. is anyone else wondering who the hell is going to make 3-pointers in Philly to keep teams from doubling Brand?
The 76ers finished DEAD LAST in threes made as a team, and that was WITH Kyle Korver & Rodney Carney making 38 each (both no longer with team). Andre Miller can’t hit a three to save his life, Willie Green shot just 28.5% from distance, and Iguodala is a 33% outside shooter for his career.
Ummm, perhaps they should consider this.
Baron speaks.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AiP3WdF6ByBLbcJx8jZBy9Q5nYcB?slug=ap-clippers-davis&prov=ap&type=lgns
Asked when he last spoke to Brand, Davis said it was yesterday, laughing and adding, “I can’t tell you what I said to him.”
“I’m signed, sealed and delivered, so I’m not disappointed at all,” he said. “And he’s signed and he’s committed.”
Davis had tried to sway Brand’s decision.
“I talked to him, would tell him, ‘Hey, this is the best place for you, we can do great things.’ But obviously he chose otherwise,” Davis said. “I can’t be mad at him for that. I wish Elton brand the best. He’s a great guy, always going to a great player and a friend of mine. He made a decision for the future of his family.
“There’s no more Elton Brand in L.A. It’s my turn and a chance for the young guys to step up. Get a couple more free agents and we’ll be ready to go.”
Davis said he didn’t consider backing out of his deal (five years, $65 million) with the Clippers because Brand wasn’t going to be around.
“It didn’t really matter, once I made my mind up. I’m a man of my word,” Davis said. “I committed to the Clippers and they committed to me.”