The NBA season is over, the champion has been crowned, and the draft has come and gone. It is now free agency time, and already there is a big name talent leaving his team for another team. This is not another story of a man who wants more money. This is the story of a man who had his feelings hurt as his coach publicly criticized him in a harsh way.
After hearing about Baron Davis' departure, fans of the Golden State Warriors have to be feeling a sense of déjà vu. Once again, an all-star and team leader has left the Warrior franchise during a time of success.
Back in 1993, the Warriors were a bad team as they received the number 3 pick overall in that year's draft. They used that pick to select Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. The Warriors ended up swapping that pick for Chris Webber, who was selected number 1 overall by the Orlando Magic.
Webber's rookie year was a quick success as he averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds a game. He beat out Penny Hardaway for the Rookie of the Year Award. The season was capped off when Webber led the Warriors back to playoffs.
Everything was not peaches and cream in Golden State with Webber and his coach, Don Nelson. There was a conflict brewing between the two over what position Webber would be on the court. Nelson wanted Webber to play in the post due to Webber's size, but Webber wanted to play out a little because he had good passing and ball handling abilities.
In the summer of 1994, Webber used the one-year escape clause he had in his contract to leave the Warriors after one year. With basically no other choices, the Warriors agreed to a sign and trade deal with the Washington Bullets (now known as the Wizards). The deal was Chris Webber for Tom Gugliotta and three first round draft picks.
Nelson was basically blamed for running Webber out of town, and soon was ran out of town as the Warriors started the next season with a 14-31 record. Now 14 years later, Nelson can be blamed for once again running an all-star out of Golden State, this time it is Baron Davis.
Baron Davis started his career off as a Charlotte Hornet, and even followed the team to New Orleans. Davis was a great point guard while a Hornet, but he was traded to the Warriors midway through the 2004-05 season.
Mike Montgomery coached Davis during his first two seasons as a Warrior, but was fired before the 2006-07 season. Golden State then rehired Don Nelson as head coach after firing him 11 years before.
Davis and Nelson seemed to be a perfect match as they both combined to help the Warriors reach the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. The Warriors made it into the playoffs as an 8th seed and were matched up against the top seed Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks were the defending Western Conference Championship and had the best record in the league, but the Warriors were not intimidated as they had already beaten the Mavericks three out of three times in the season.
With the confidence already there the Davis led Warriors won the series 4-2. The Warriors made NBA history, as they became the first 8th seed ever to win a best-of-seven series. Davis did it all for the Warriors as he went on to average 25 points and had many memorable highlights.
Davis and the Warriors seemed to have had a bright future ahead as an emerging team in the Western Conference. That all changed when Davis was benched the whole second half in a late season game against the Phoenix Suns. The game against the Suns meant a lot for the Warriors who were pushing for the 8th seed in maybe the tightest playoff race in NBA history.
Don Nelson sat Davis down for the second half, because Davis shot 2 for 13 from the field in the first half. No one can fathom the reason why Davis, Golden State's best player, was sitting on the bench during one of the team's most important games of the season.
Nelson's post game interview was a head scratcher, as he seemed to forget how much Davis meant to the Warriors as he ripped him a little too much. He called Davis the worst player on the court, and that may have signified the end of Baron Davis as a Warrior. On June 30th, Davis opted out of his contract to be a free agent.
One day later, Davis verbally agreed to a 5-year, $65 million with the Los Angeles Clippers. This will be a big move for Davis, as he will be back home in LA and he will get a fresh start trying to lead another young team to success.
Call it a coincidence that Davis left the Warriors searching for a new point guard, but Don Nelson is the blame once again for ruining a Warrior team. If history plays out the same, then Nelson will be fired midway through next season.
If the Clippers can get Elton Brand and Corey Maggette to agree to resign with the team, then they have a playoff bound team. As of now, Brand has been offered a max contract by the Warriors and Maggette is rumored to be entertaining offers from both the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers.
No matter what the Warriors are now stuck without a true leader on their team, and the only person they can blame is Don Nelson AGAIN. Management for the Warriors has to be praying right now that Gilbert Arenas accepts their offer and signs with them to fill the void at point guard.
In a time where the playoff race is so tight, the Warriors could not afford this loss. Without Baron Davis, how do the Warriors expect to stay in the playoff race when an emerging force in the Portland Trailblazers and the potential combination of Davis and Brand for the Clippers are around? Looks like the Warriors have fallen under the Don Nelson curse again. Good luck with trying to fix things up!
I have been known to piss off a player or two
We won't last 5 years I can guarantee you that
how my azz tazte
Talent...will be giving you an e-mail!