After the initial shock, how are you feeling about the Baron Davis trade?

I feel bad for Baron, but Mo Williams is an upgrade all things considered. If we win the lottery this year then maybe this was a bad trade, but I’m optimistic.

Terrence Jones or Harrison Barnes would be nice, but would likely be 2-3 years away from contributing. In the meantime, our culture of losing would persist, and Blake and Eric would get frustrated. This trade allows us to pick up a solid veteran SF in the offseason who can make an immediate contribution.

And this way it’s the Cavs, not us, who have to deal with the 350-lbs post-lockout Baron.

I wanted to vote but didn’t find a category close to “delighted that the Clips have traded BD and we can now move on.” I’m more than cautiously optimistic because freeing up $s gives the Clips a better shot at attracting a quality SF over the summer and more $s to resign DJ and EJ when their contracts expire.

Giving up an unprotected pick seems a bit careless. Losing Baron’s contract seems the wise move though. If the idea is to take a shot at more expensive free agents in 2012, then Mo Williams’ 8.5 million dollar contract in 2012 – 2013 will be easier to manipulate than 15 million for Baron Davis. If the Clippers don’t want him in 2012 – 2013 and want to clear up more money, buying Mo out will be far easier than Davis. Mo can find another team to pay him 4 – 5 millon if the Clippers give him a 3 – 4 million to terminate his deal.

i figured they move him sooner or later….the trade isnt perfect but it will do…even when baron was playing well we still couldnt win on the road

It looks like a lot of us started to feel better about it after the initial shock. The flexibility is nice, but only if something comes of it. To be free of Baron’s injuries is a silver lining.

Olshey has made it very clear that he views this draft as very weak. We can quibble with this point, but if that is the working assumption then adding protections to the pick makes little sense. If you add protections, then what happens? The Clips give up the pick in a much deeper draft a year (or two) from now. In effect, you’re probably giving up more by adding the protections.

To me, this trade is less about cap space (although that helps) or x’s and o’s than it is about sending an undeniable message about whose team this is. I admit to being an EJ homer, but he is so crucial to the success of the team. Fairly or not, EJ was a much younger, less developed player when Baron joined the team as “the man,” and I believe that it took two full seasons for EJ to overcome that inherent disadvantage in perception of value relative to the former All-Star with the mega-contract. It was slow and at times uncomfortable (and from what little EJ has said, he didn’t enjoy having to do it in the first place). But it eventually happened and this trade merely formalizes that transition. Baron is no longer needed to be what he was brought here to be in the first place – the man. Even if we conclude that bringing in Mo is a wash skills-wise, I believe this misses the point. This team belongs to Blake and EJ. Expectations are set right up front. Unlike Baron, Mo isn’t coming in here to be the man. The hierarchy is clear as crystal.

One additional potential upside of this trade relates to motivation. In a perfect world, all players would have the same level of productivity and effectiveness regardless of circumstance (including motivation level). But based on what we know about both players, the effectiveness of each is clearly impacted by their level of motivation and how they feel about their situations (it shouldn’t be that way, but it is). By the most basic standards (PPG, APG), Mo and Baron are having similar years. But I believe that Baron’s effectiveness was artificially high and Mo’s was artificially low, simply based on the level of optimism that was in place at each organization. My prediction is that Mo’s productivity (whether it be PPG, assists, TSP, etc.) will increase as a result of his new environment (the guy should be doing cartwheels) and Baron’s will decline due being moved to a bad situation. Based on what we have observed for two plus seasons, I have concluded that Baron simply doesn’t have the resiliency to thrive in tough times. Leadership is easy when times are good, but the true test of leadership is how people lead when times are harder.

This trade isn’t a slam dunk as some (e.g., Ric Bucher) proclaim. But to me, it’s a solid, thoughtful bet. Sure, the Cavs might get very lucky and score the #1 pick with it. But to me, every trade involves risk and you can’t make decisions based on the least likely nightmare scenarios. But that is just me.

-the pick dealt in the bledsoe trade is heavily protected through 2016. and we got eric bledsoe, who looks like he’ll be a player, so i dont mind.
-i love baron, and will miss him. but really, baron wasn’t in our future plans. biggest possible plus sides for baron extended within the next 2 years, and we’ve had more than 2 years of major disappointment already. i understand baron was happy to play with blake and rejuvenated, but even at the tail end of this trip, the guy was breaking down again. physically, it’s just tough to really depend on him anymore. baron davis’s clipper career has been a series of short flashes followed by long periods of disappointment.
-getting mo back will help our #1 problem in that the clippers lack perimeter shooting. mo’s shot like garbage this year, but hes been essentially the only offensive threat on that team outside of jamison. team’s gear up for him completely. hes not a terrible passer, neither, though not as good as baron.
-ultimately, this deal was made for financial flexibility. i dislike giving away an unprotected first, but really, we have enough raw talent at every position. im not sure how much better a pick in the late singles or early teens would be than aminu.

this team is building with youth, yes. but we have plenty of blocks already in place. the one thing about trading that pick, it makes me think olshey is tired of waiting. we’ve stockpiled enough youth. mo gives us flexibility to actually plug up that sf hole, keep dj, and have a nice team for next year.

if we dont plug that sf hole in the offseason though, ill think of this deal much less, and it’ll feel just like more of the donald’s penny pinching.