Contract Talks With Davis Still Going On

[Admiral]

After weeks of informal conversations, Baron Davis' agent, Todd Ramasar, met with Warriors officials Thursday to discuss a potential contract extension for his client. But the talks failed to provide any satisfaction for Davis, a two-time All-Star who just turned 29.

In fact, the sides are so far apart that Ramasar brought up the specter of Davis using his opt-out clause to void the final year on his current deal and become an unrestricted free agent as of July 1.

"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."

Contra Costa Times

[DyEaBoLiKaL]

Golden State point guard Baron Davis elected to become a free agent Monday night, opting out of the final year of his contract with the Warriors in a surprise move.

Davis had until Monday night to decide whether to turn down his $17.8 million contract for next season, the final year of a six-year deal. The Warriors didn’t expect him to opt out of the deal despite little progress in the parties’ long-term contract negotiation, but club spokesman Raymond Ridder said they received a letter from Davis’ agent, Todd Ramasar, late Monday indicating his intentions.

Davis still could return to Golden State as a free agent, but his opt-out clause was his only bit of leverage in forcing contract talks with the Warriors before next summer. The former All-Star also is now free to negotiate with other clubs, possibly facilitating a sign-and-trade deal with Golden State.

Link

[JimmytheFish]

Unbelievable. His agent was saying just last week that he was going to honor the last year of is contract and not opt out. As a player I think Baron is a fabulous point guard who brings a ton to the team-- when he's on. If he's not, he shoots like a Kobe-esque ball hog clanking shot after shot. If he thinks he is going to get a long term contract from some team for 20+ million a season, he's dreaming. There are only a handful of teams that can even think about fitting that massive contract under their cap and most of those teams are non-playoff teams, and they have to do some maneuvering with their own free agents to clear space (the Clippers for one).

Well as a Warriors fan, I am done with him. He could have told the team his intentions long ago. I would have been fine with it. By waiting until the last minute of the last day even after his agent said he wouldn't opt out, now he's forced Mullin to scramble to try to figure out who is going to be starting point guard of the team. Now we see Baron's true colors: screw the team. It's all about "ME".

[OsbornetoRun]

Let me say it a bit more strongly than JtF, I think Baron screwed the Warriors. All Mullin and Nelson did was revive Baron's career and give him a chance to shine, become an all-star caliber talent again in the NBA. Helluva way to repay the club by screwing them over, Baron. I watched his little, "Thank you Bay Area" interview on ESPN.com tonight. Frankly it's just quite weak. Sure, reports are that he got a bigger pot of guarantee gold. But he was to be paid nearly $18m this year. If he had even a solid year, didn't have to be spectacular, he would have had the same type of dollars (or maybe even much greater) available to him after the final year in Oakland. Heck, I agree with JtF that if he really wanted to go now, well, I suppose that's fine if he'd given the team reasonable notice. If they'd known he was going to bolt, say a month ago, they'd have probably used the $10m trade exception and/or the recent draft to address the departure. But to up to a day ago, Baron said he was staying and then suddenly he quit on them, literally a few hours before his opt-out window was to expire and before FA signing period was to start. For that I think the move was really a big slap in the face to the Warriors, that includes his teammates, coaches, and ownership. A 2-minute TV interview hardly changes a damn thing......

Okay, it was good to get that off my chest. Wait, I need to say some more. "What a complete piece of excrement you are, Baron, you no good turd!" "May you go to that miserable Clippers franchise and rot in pergatory like all other Clippers before you." Okay, that's even more helpful to my poor, Bay Area sports afflicted heart!