In a move that shakes the landscape of an already deep Western Conference, the Clippers reached agreement on a contract with All-Star point guard Baron Davis on Tuesday, according to Davis' agent.
The deal is expected to be signed for five years and $65 million once the NBA's moratorium period ends next week.
"From a basketball standpoint, it's always been about winning for Baron," said Todd Ramasar, Davis' agent. "This presented a good opportunity to do that, to pair him with Chris Kaman and Elton Brand expected back."
And Brand, indeed, is back.
The All-Star power forward who opted out of his contract a day earlier for free agency is expected to reach an agreement with the Clippers on a new multiyear deal, possibly as soon as today.
In Davis, 29, the Clippers get what they had earmarked entering the off-season and sorely missed last year: a proven and electric point guard, capable of both scoring and table setting.
Davis has battled past injuries, but played in all 82 games last season for the Golden State Warriors, averaging 21.8 points and 7.6 assists. In his nine-year career, Davis has averaged 17.1 points and 7.2 assists. He was the main catalyst in the eighth-seeded Warriors' upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the 2007 playoffs.
That the Los Angeles native and UCLA product would come to the Clippers, however, came in a sweeping and stunning fashion.
Davis, a two-time All-Star, left a guaranteed $17.8 million to walk away from the final season of his contract with the Warriors and become a free agent. Only 11 players in the NBA are expected to draw a higher paycheck next season.
A tipping point for Davis may have come late last season when Warriors Coach Don Nelson benched him for the second half of a pivotal game.
When asked if he had heard talk around the NBA that a deal had possibly been in place before the start of free agency, Ramasar said that Davis opting out of his contract had always remained a distinct possibility.
Ramasar added that the Warriors had not attempted to negotiate with Davis before or after he opted out of his contract.
"Baron would have liked to remain a Warrior as short as [Monday] and even [Tuesday]," Ramasar said. "There was no offer, no extension."
Enter the Clippers, who quickly scooped up the opportunity to land Davis.
