Baron Davis

Baron Davis walked up, a glazed doughnut in one hand, a stern look in his eyes, flashing a playful smile. "I blame you," he said, chuckling slightly. "All of this is your fault." This, of course, refers to Davis' hope-turned-to-dust season as a Clipper. Ten hours later, this would include the horror of watching LeBron James erase a Clippers' 19-point lead, dragging Davis through a deeper nightmare. The ex-UCLA star wryly blames me for this because of a column I wrote two years ago.

So the Lakers want to sign a veteran player who is waived by another team? Baron Davis, Brandon Roy, Rashard Lewis? Not so fast. Details are still emerging from the NBA's yet-to-be-ratified collective bargaining agreement, but the Lakers will have to get in line and bid for players who are cut via the one-time "amnesty" clause. The process is not designed to favor the wealthy, successful teams. It's designed to help teams well below the salary cap. While the Lakers already have a payroll of $91 million for only 11 players, almost half of the NBA's 30 teams will be below the salary cap of $58 million after signing their draft picks and can potentially offer millions more than the Lakers for waived players.

Baron Davis, as only an adept point guard can do, grabbed the conversation and revealed the depth of his frustration since becoming a Clipper. Davis said before Wednesday's 93-85 loss to Portland, the Clippers' sixth straight, that he once might have handled differences about his place in the organization and former general manager-coach Mike Dunleavy much differently. "The younger Baron definitely would have said something," he said. "Yeah. I probably would have asked for a way out, looked for the easiest way out."

Call it a fresh chapter, or maybe closure, for former Cavaliers Mo Williams and Jamario Moon and possibly the start of a healthy finish for Eric Gordon . Williams and Moon are facing Cleveland for the first time since they were traded to the Clippers last month in the Baron Davis deal. And Saturday represents a return to action for Gordon, who has played only one complete game since Jan. 22 when he sprained his right wrist. "It won't be hard," Williams said Friday.

Just when Steve Blake was beginning to settle in as the Clippers' point guard, here comes Baron Davis . The veteran could reclaim his starting spot Monday night at Staples Center against the Charlotte Bobcats after sitting out the previous two games because of a sore lower back. Davis practiced Sunday but said he still lacked some explosiveness. He said he initially suffered the injury against Memphis on Jan. 12 but continued to play for the next month with the Clippers clinging to faint playoff hopes and several of his teammates sidelined by injuries.

I know dogs, so I stopped by to see Baron Davis. The Clippers have built a very nice kennel, including a combination wood/glass trophy case for their so-called show dogs, which, almost needless to say, sits empty. Tim Thomas called this home earlier this season. Bow wow, indeed. Now a suspended Zach Randolph resides here as well as so many other discarded players, including druggie Ricky Davis. The NBA's version of a pound, I guess.

"I'm the king of L.A.," Baron Davis likes to say, with a smile on his bearded face. But he doesn't even play here. He plays in Oakland. And it's not right. They don't deserve him. We do. "Comfortable everywhere," he likes to say, grinning some more. There is a chuckle in his voice. "From Compton to Malibu."

How good can the Clippers be? "We can be really good," Clippers point guard Baron Davis said. Good enough to make the playoffs this season? Davis paused, gathering his thoughts. When told that the one and only Charles Barkley recently told a reporter that the Clippers are good enough to make the playoffs, Davis smiled. Then he gave an emphatic answer. "We can be in the playoffs easily," Davis responded, his mood suddenly upbeat. Now you have to keep in mind that the Clippers haven't had No.1 draft pick Blake Griffin all season because of a broken left kneecap and he's not expected back until January.

Charlotte Hornet rookie Baron Davis, who had major surgery on his left knee two years ago as a freshman at UCLA, has injured the knee again and will have an MRI today. "It's not the ACL [which he tore in college] or anything," said the third pick of the 1999 NBA draft. "Just something nagging. I've never had it before." "If it does show a tear we'll have to make a decision," Charlotte Coach Paul Silas said. "He didn't look to bad, but if we don't have Baron we have to find a point guard."

Flu season, or some close imitation of it, appears to have hit the Clippers a bit early. Marcus Camby, now sidelined because of a bruised right heel, sat out most of the first week of training camp because of flu-like symptoms. Then Baron Davis trudged off the court near the end of practice Monday looking somewhat flat. It had been an active 24 hours for Davis.

Eric Gordon has been busy watching college basketball in person during his injury-induced layoff, but he turned to another sport, using a baseball analogy to describe the differences between his old point guard, Baron Davis , and the incumbent, Mo Williams . Gordon could return to the court Saturday and it may be against Davis, who will be playing his first game at Staples Center since the Clippers traded him and a future first-round pick...

Trades have hit snags in the NBA, and even unraveled, but the Clippers were spared additional headaches when the Cavaliers informed them Sunday morning that Baron Davis passed his physical in Cleveland. That was the last piece of the puzzle for the deal to be completed and made official by the league, meaning point guard Mo Williams and small forward Jamario Moon can play at Sacramento on Monday night. The Clippers, who have lost four straight games coming out of the All-Star break, could have used the likes of Williams and Moon in Saturday's loss to the Boston Celtics.

All is right in the world. The overpaid chipmunk with a bruised tailbone is being sent to the NBA's equivalent of Siberia. You don't disrespect Donald Sterling and cash your paychecks without earning them. Coming into camp overweight and out of shape was the last straw. Baron Davis was not loved in the locker room and you could tell that Eric Gordon did not appreciate him playing only when he felt like it. Good riddance. Gary Pinson Sylmar :: Baron Davis may not have been the answer to the Clippers' prayers, but he and Blake Griffin had formed a nice bond and were clicking on the court.

Baron, we hardly knew ye … Oh, right, you're from here, went to UCLA and remained a local favorite … until you were traded here. As homecomings go, this was like deranged, ax-wielding Jack Nicholson in "The Shining," chopping through a door, announcing: "Wendy, I'm home!" Wendy, home is now Cleveland. In another deadline surprise, the Clippers traded Baron Davis and this spring's unprotected No. 1 pick — currently No. 7 — to Cleveland for Mo Williams, a defrocked All-Star, and Jamario Moon, who's like Al-Farouq Aminu, without the polish.

Think about the most recent Clippers developments along these lines: This would be a lot like a new family moving into a house and establishing residence, leaving no doubt about ownership. Symbolically speaking, that's what happened Thursday. Baron Davis' name was wiped out with a few brush strokes and replaced by the kids Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon . Those calling the shots with the Clippers talked about the trade of Davis and a 2011 first-round draft pick to Cleveland for guard Mo Williams , 28, and small forward Jamario Moon , 30, in terms of future salary cap flexibility.

Unfortunately for Baron Davis , his most memorable moment during 21/2 forgettable seasons with the Clippers was throwing a pass through a sunroof to Blake Griffin. ? Not even Donald Sterling could heckle that. ? Two games into their stretch run, Pau Gasol and the Lakers have put the Calamity in Cleveland behind them. ? Clippers announcer Mike Smith , during Wednesday's telecast, said that Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets should have been the NBA's most valuable player in 2008, noting that 2008 MVP Kobe Bryant should have won "three or four" other times.

Sometimes you have to look at the unscientific, non-medical evidence to figure out what is going on. Or, what may be going on. Consider the question of whether Clippers point guard Baron Davis is playing against the Lakers on Wednesday. There might be another way to assess his chances of making the season opener. It has to do with his beloved grandmother Lela Nicholson. "She's going to come to the Laker game," Davis said Monday after practice.

The Clippers and the Cavaliers agreed in principle Wednesday to a deal that would send veteran point guard Baron Davis to Cleveland for guard Mo Williams, according to a league source who was not authorized to speak about the trade discussions. There are other moving parts to the deal, which should be finalized by Thursday morning or afternoon, barring unforeseen complications, the source said. The Clippers will also send their No. 1 pick from the upcoming draft in June to Cleveland, getting back small forward Jamario Moon in return.

Mysteries are all well and good ? just not in the NBA. With only 26 games left in the season, it's still hard to really know about the Clippers' true abilities and chemistry because so many key players have been sidelined. Immediate clarity remains elusive because their leading scorer, shooting guard Eric Gordon, did not make the trip Monday to Oklahoma City. He stayed home to get treatment on his injured but improving right wrist, which has kept him sidelined since Jan. 22. But Clippers forward Craig Smith, out for two months because of a herniated disk in his lower back, could play Tuesday against the Thunder.