Why the hate? A heartfelt look at Baron Davis

It’s not easy being Baron Davis. On a highly competitive NBA team, Baron is a stand-out star. He runs the offense on the most exciting team in the league (with D’Antoni gone, I’m not giving the Suns’ the benefit of the doubt) and is still being more slept on than Hugh Hefner’s bed. The guy has been more than instrumental in bringing excitement back to Oakland, a sentiment they haven’t felt since the days of Run-“TMC” (the combination of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin in the early 90s before Latrell was getting his choke on, for those not in the know). B-Diddy lit up the “best team “ of the 2006-2007 regular season in the first round of the playoffs and has re-instilled a winning attitude in a place that really needed it. Only the highly unlikely case of a 49 win team not cracking the Western Conference playoff picture kept Baron and Co. out of this year’s dance.

S

o..why the hate? Baron averaged 21.8 ppg, 7.6 apg, 4.7 rpg, and 2.33 spg and still couldn’t get the all-star nod. Granted, Brandon Roy lead a young Blazers team on an unprecedented run, but as mentioned on this site before; Baron had better numbers (on both ends of the court) on a better and more exciting team. The way the NBA usually jocks their uber-athletic stars, you thought they would have had a spot in their heart, and their all-star selection ballot, for the Compton native (Word has it Game wrote “300 Bars” as a joint diss to both Mobb Deep and David Stern). But, alas Baron just can’t get that sort of love. With an unlikely chance of being voted in the top 5 for the all-star game every year, Baron has to bank on some favouritism. Not to mention the young and stocked point guard position in the West (sup Chris, Deron, Tony, Brandon....goodbye Devin) isn’t doing much to help his future chances.

The hate has continued lately, as Baron has found himself getting continually low-balled by the Golden State front office in recent weeks. Word has it, they have been throwing potential deals on the table that financially question his role as the team’s franchise player. One again, why the hate? Baron is a very talented, passionate, and all be it, bulky player that can score and create shots for his teammates like only few others. By dealing Jason Richardson last summer, it seems Golden State was positioning themselves for the ultra-serious resigning of both Monta Ellis and our ol’ pal, Baron, but where’s all that cash now? Seeing what he has done for both Charlotte and Golden State in the past, there is no doubt in my mind that he is the sort of player that can lead a team to the NBA championship with the right supporting cast. However, the jury is still out on whether the run and gun attitude of Don Nelson is a winning style of basketball, beyond the regular season.

So what is a Baron to do? Stick it out with a team that is clearly trying to slight him out more scrilla or perhaps forwardly ask for a trade out of the sunshine state? Knowing B-Diddy, he would like to stay near home/family, but maybe this isn’t the ideal situation for him. Sure his numbers will always be higher in a system designed on offensive output, but stats aren’t everything (sorry Carmelo, but it’s true). At this point in his career, Baron would like to sign a max deal that will keep him in one jersey until he slows down to a Khalid El-Amin like pace, but it’s looking as if that sort of opportunity will only come outside of Oakland. So, my advice to Baron, make moves with the money! It appears shallow at first glance, but why feel underappreciated when it’s unnecessary? Ok, apparently Golden State doesn’t seem to (overly) value what you bring to a team, so go somewhere that does. If Miami can’t land Derrick Rose they may be prompted to shake things up in their quest for a floor general.

I feel like Golden State will realize the sort of player they are dealing with and fork out the cash accordingly, but there has been a history of “Penny pinching” in the Warriors’ front office. Never the less, Baron deserves better treatment than what he has been receiving over the past year. An all-star talent without the all-star recognition and the matching salary is usually a disgruntled talent, but not Baron. He simply wants to be treated fairly. Is that too much to ask?

That’s the million dollar question or in Chris Mullin’s case - the multi-year, multi-million dollar question.