Zelophehad
02-24-2011, 07:43 AM
The Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed in principle to a trade that would send Baron Davis and the Clippers' 2011 first-round draft pick to Cleveland in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon, league sources confirmed to ESPN.com.
Davis
Williams
The deal saves the Clippers considerable money the next two seasons while giving them a younger point guard who made the All-Star team while playing with LeBron James.
Davis is still owed nearly $28 million over the next two seasons and the balance of his $13 million contract this year. Moon's contract expires after this season. Williams is owed the balance of his $9.3 million salary this season and, with player options of $8.5 million for each of the next two years, potentially could get out of his contract altogether. The savings should give the Clippers more flexibility in free agency the next two seasons.
The Clippers would give up a likely top-10 lottery pick to make the savings happen. "That just shows you how much we hate this draft," one Clippers source told ESPN.com.
But the lottery pick from the Clippers was exactly what the Cavs were after. A Cavs source told ESPN.com that the trade was made primarily for the draft pick.
"We know we're going to have to build this team through the lottery," the source said. "We hope Baron works out, but our primary focus was the pick. We really wanted two top-10 picks to infuse the team with young talent."
In Davis, the Cavs would get a veteran who, when he's engaged, is one of the top point guards in the league. But will Davis be engaged on a team with the worst record in the NBA?
More On The Clippers
For more news, notes and analysis of L.A., check out the ClipperBlog. Blog
"Baron won't be happy," said a GM who has had past dealings with Davis. "This is a worst-case scenario for him. He was just starting to get happy in L.A. playing with [Clippers rookie] Blake Griffin. There's not much to get excited about in Cleveland these days."
The trade agreement is a revival of discussions that began over the summer, when the Cavaliers scrambled to upgrade their talent to appease James, but those talks ultimately collapsed when Clippers owner Donald Sterling nixed the deal.
Neither Davis nor Williams suited up Wednesday night. Davis sat out the Clippers' loss to the New Orleans Hornets with swelling in his knee. Williams sat out Cleveland's loss to Houston, after returning from a hip injury before the All-Star break.
The notion of Davis' being reunited with Cavaliers coach Byron Scott would be met with skepticism after the two clashed earlier in their careers in New Orleans.
However, a source with knowledge of the situation said that their relationship has improved somewhat in recent years and a potential reunion "has to be OK" because the trade talks have progressed to this point.
There also is a question of how the trade would affect Griffin, who seemed to be developing a chemistry with Davis.
"I think anything's possible," said a source with knowledge of the talks. "I mean, would Utah really trade Deron Williams?"
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=6153550
Davis
Williams
The deal saves the Clippers considerable money the next two seasons while giving them a younger point guard who made the All-Star team while playing with LeBron James.
Davis is still owed nearly $28 million over the next two seasons and the balance of his $13 million contract this year. Moon's contract expires after this season. Williams is owed the balance of his $9.3 million salary this season and, with player options of $8.5 million for each of the next two years, potentially could get out of his contract altogether. The savings should give the Clippers more flexibility in free agency the next two seasons.
The Clippers would give up a likely top-10 lottery pick to make the savings happen. "That just shows you how much we hate this draft," one Clippers source told ESPN.com.
But the lottery pick from the Clippers was exactly what the Cavs were after. A Cavs source told ESPN.com that the trade was made primarily for the draft pick.
"We know we're going to have to build this team through the lottery," the source said. "We hope Baron works out, but our primary focus was the pick. We really wanted two top-10 picks to infuse the team with young talent."
In Davis, the Cavs would get a veteran who, when he's engaged, is one of the top point guards in the league. But will Davis be engaged on a team with the worst record in the NBA?
More On The Clippers
For more news, notes and analysis of L.A., check out the ClipperBlog. Blog
"Baron won't be happy," said a GM who has had past dealings with Davis. "This is a worst-case scenario for him. He was just starting to get happy in L.A. playing with [Clippers rookie] Blake Griffin. There's not much to get excited about in Cleveland these days."
The trade agreement is a revival of discussions that began over the summer, when the Cavaliers scrambled to upgrade their talent to appease James, but those talks ultimately collapsed when Clippers owner Donald Sterling nixed the deal.
Neither Davis nor Williams suited up Wednesday night. Davis sat out the Clippers' loss to the New Orleans Hornets with swelling in his knee. Williams sat out Cleveland's loss to Houston, after returning from a hip injury before the All-Star break.
The notion of Davis' being reunited with Cavaliers coach Byron Scott would be met with skepticism after the two clashed earlier in their careers in New Orleans.
However, a source with knowledge of the situation said that their relationship has improved somewhat in recent years and a potential reunion "has to be OK" because the trade talks have progressed to this point.
There also is a question of how the trade would affect Griffin, who seemed to be developing a chemistry with Davis.
"I think anything's possible," said a source with knowledge of the talks. "I mean, would Utah really trade Deron Williams?"
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=6153550