Baron Wants His Money

by Marcel Mutoni

Baron Davis – the awesomely bearded, tomahawk jamming, rockstar of the 2007 NBA Playoffs – wants to sign a long-term extension, and he wants it as soon as possible.

According to Baron, if Warrior management doesn’t step up to the plate in a big way, he’s going to test the market via free agency. From the Boston Globe:

“There hasn’t been too much talking. But in the next two weeks, I’m going to make a decision if I will re-sign or play the season out and be a free agent,” he said.

“I know where I want to be. I know what I want to do. You just have to see if the team that you’re playing for wants you the most. Hopefully, we’ll find out that soon.”

Rumor has it that the 28-year old Baron Davis is looking for an extension in the neighborhood of $50 million. Logically and financially, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for Chris Mullin and the rest of Golden State Warriors braintrust to give him that kind of money. For one, he’s a walking season-ending knee injury waiting to happen, plus, who’s to say that he can ever come close to repeating last year’s magic?

Here’s the catch, though: Baron is arguably the most popular athlete in the entire Bay Area. If the Warriors don’t re-sign him, the Warrior faithful will hunt down Mullin and his family. Having already lost another wildly popular Warrior (Jason Richardson) this summer, do the Warriors – assuming they want to stay competitive in the West – have any other option but resign their point guard to a lucrative deal? Only time will tell.