Baron the Beacon

It's been a week since the Warriors traded for Baron Davis and I'm still having trouble believing it actually happened. A young, talented, proven player has come to the Warriors?

This franchise is famous for it's ugly history of no-talent draft picks and its acquisition of overpaid, past-their prime veterans. But even more devasting has been the fact that the team hasn't been able to keep the few good players that have come through Oakland over the last decade. From Chris Webber to Latrell Sprewell to Larry Hughes to Gilbert Arenas, the franchise has a pathetic history of watching their best players flee (often traded away) and flourish with new teams. Then when a proven guy like Nick Van Exel comes through, his production and attitude plummets. Needless to say, this is an excrutiating team to root for: we can't retain our homegrown talent and we can't utilize the talent that we acquire. Warriors players always play down to the franchise.

I worry about Baron's injury history, however his 25 year-old body is young enough to regroup. After all Grant Hill is seven years older and even he turned it around after being injured for four seasons. I'm just ready to be optimistic about a player who can score, be a leader, and most importantly, create. This is a guy who could lead turn a busted play into a dunk, lead a 15 point comeback in the fourth quarter or put a team on his back for a long road trip. But the best part of the Baron Davis acquisition? He's under contract until 2009. That kind of commitment provides much comfort to wary Warriors fans... if the franchise doesn't screw him up, that is.