The Mindset - Philospohy is different for those who read & post almost exclusively in the GARM compared to those who have a more balanced Life and frequent other Forums beyond the GARM. There is more to winning in the NBA than just putting up numbers. You pointed out his good numbers, yet didn't ponder why he is an Also Ran in terms of getting a lucrative Free Agent contract this summer. Since the Clippers were able to sign Baron Davis as a Free Agent and acquire Marcus Camby for Free, they didn't have a MLE to work with this summer. After those deals, they had just a relatively small amount of salary cap space left to use. He likely got no more than one-half of what you suggested. Probably 2.2 million at the most.
I was one of the guys that thought the rox could get a solid 6th man for cheap in Ricky Davis. I'm not going to play his lawyer or publicist, but sometimes a guys rep can just carry on. Davis hasn't been a headcase for over 3 yrs or so, yet some people can't get past that. Bob Sura was on losing teams and attempted a self made triple double jus like Davis, yet people on this board would take him back now if he could play. What I always wonder is how many games these same posters have watch of other players and teams when they make these judgements. I've had the league pass since birth and have a 300 gig hard drive full of nba games other than the rox. A lot of posters just look at stats or remember something about a guy years ago and keep it going. I've never said he would totaally change the rox organization altogether, but what I do know is he's 6'6, atheletic, can get his own shot, good ft shooter, durable, and was actually known as a good defender before. I know if he was coming off the bench behind tracy and shane, I would like the rox chances. I know if tracy misses games, I would like our chances with him filling in, but as usual, we continue to have a roster with undersized players that can't create their own shot and hope we get lucky to get out of the 2nd rd. Or better yet, we continue to wait on a guy with bad knees, yet we really don't want to give him more than minimum while quality swing players get away. Oh well, like my sig says, eventually apathy sets in and the stadium gets empty.
What's funny is that "posters" on the BBS who supposedly don't scout Ricky Davis as much because they don't have 300 gigs of games on their hardrives are not the ones who determined Ricky Davis' value. 30 NBA teams, each of whom presumably have more than 300 gigs of games on their hardrives and who presumably know about whether a player is a head case or not are the ones who determined Ricky Davis' value. And he's getting paid a little more than $2 million.
I don't think Ricky Davis is a headcase. I just think he's not the type of player an NBA team would want on their team. Watching the Heat last year with Ricky Davis was horrid. I don't know what Riley saw in him that allowed him the freedom to "run" an offense of dribbling up the court to rush a poor shot or not getting his teammates involved (of course when your best on-court options available are Chris Quinn and Ear Barron that doesn't help). Ricky Davis left a lot to be desired. An injured Jason Williams was a better decision maker. Ricky Davis is a liability that will make poor decisions and inevitably will cost his team games. He's a good basketball player but he's really not cut out as an effective "NBA" player.
I really shouldn't talk because I used to have the same negative opinion about Davis, but from what I understand this seems to be the case. By most accounts Davis seems to have done a 180 in the knucklehead department and become pretty much a model citizen and teammate. It remains to be seen however if he can become a contributor to a championship team but remember people used to have the same opinion about James Posey before he went to the Miami Heat. Now he's the new Robert Horry.
...and there's plenty more examples. There's usually a few ways to get better fast. MANY championship teams had headcases. The smart GM's trade for those guys because you can get them for well below market value. The warriors/pacers fleecing was a perfect example of this. One team shot up to the second round in the western conference playoffs while the other couldn't make them in the Leastern conference.
And so, what does that say about barry whom no one was offering more than vet minimum. Classic CH. I'm not talking about annoiting Davis the savior like they did in Cleveland. I'm talking about value 2m, for a guy that has been a primary guy that if Tracy needs to miss his standard 10 games, the team still has a playmaker that can play 36 mins and be productive. We always talk about bargain shopping for guys. If you can honestly tell me that you feel better about Barry playing 35 mins in a bind because of injury more than Davis, you simply don't watch basketball. I can't beat around the bush or make it any more simple than that. You probably haven't played ball past high school. Then again, that's probably what I'm responding to, which is my bad. We know what happens with or without yao in the playoffs. Teams will tilt to tracy and single Yao. The rox even with barry still don't have a guy that can create his own shot, get to the rim and finish. I know one mans trash is another ones treasure, but like CH like to point out, Barry's previous team didn't even offer him a deal. When I said the priority of getting Barry should have been late summer because he had limited to no offers, that was the truth. I like Barry, but at 37, what happens when tracy misses 10 games? When was the last time he has played 30 mins per game? When has he played 20mins per game. Davis isn't great, but he would have been very good in filling the lack of a quality scorer off the bench for a team notorious for scoring droughts in the playoffs. Its no different than harpring,wally,stack, and guys like that coming off the bench. The rox come off with barry. There is a serious imbalance there. Oh well, we will see.
People didn't think you could win a title with Jason Williams and Walker either, but they did. People didn't know about Rasheed, but they won also. Bob Mcadoo was known as a selfish scorer, but went to lakers and won. Sometiimes perception is all people see as opposed to can a guy play a fit and contribute to the holes in your team.
dude you're preaching to the choir, the conservative houston rocket fans love their old safe players. its the same old drill, you can't change em. i haven't been in the barry threads much, but the idea that this guy is going to be a full time back up at age 37 is so beyond ridiculous i don't where to start. he's nice to have on your team, not so much too rely on.
I would imagine he'll split time with Thornton at the three and they'll have Cuttino and Eric Gordon platoon the two. Makes the most sense.
Those guys you mentioned turned out to be stopgap fill ins for one hit championship teams, except the Lakers who traded away Mcadoo because he really didn't fit their winning style of play. You can only get away for so long with filling loser players in championship teams then they start dragging down or screw up the chemistry with their loser mentality. After winning 1 ring with the Pistons, Rasheed has shown his true knucklehead colors in following years (leaving Horry on that 3 pointer, tirades and outbursts, joking with the other team's players during playoffs) and I'd say he's alot of the blame the Pistons haven't won more titles. Jason Williams and Antione Walker, losers who won one a ring. Every dog has their day.
Davis may have issues, but that was a heck of a deal for the Clippers. I never thought he'd sign for that little. Funny how there are always some players who "fall through the cracks" come contract time. If a guy like Davis signs for a little over $2 million a year for two years, what does that say about Landry's chances of landing a big MLE contract? I'd say they aren't too good.
Davis is a decent talent, but he is not a difference maker. Not in terms of elevating an already good team like the Rockets to a higher level. Not like Ron Artest.
