The Baron's Edict: Opt Out

And then the unthinkable happened.

Warriors fans are now in a new and strange place. Despite repeated pledges to stay in Oakland next season, guard Baron Davis opted out of the final year of his contract, according to published reports. This means that he will forgo $17.8 million next season in hopes of securing a longer-term deal.

As fans, we’re left to wonder, "Why?" Was it the late-season benching? Was it the lack of what he considered a "respectful" contract offer? Until he speaks, we won’t know.

This puts the Dubs management in a situation that can at best be described as difficult. They can give him a pile of money and kill their cap for the next few seasons. They can look for sign-and-trades. Or they can renounce his rights, which takes his cap hold (around $24 million) off the cap, but causes them to lose the ability to make a sign-and-trade.

The market, however, further complicates this situation. Only three teams (LA Clippers, Philly and Memphis) have the cap space to make Baron as rich a man as he would like to be. Other than that, teams would have to sign him to the mid-level exception and pay more later. Furthermore, Philly and the Clippers would have to renounce key players to generate that kind of cap space.

Davis, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette and Gilbert Arenas are the top free agents out there, though Arenas reportedly has a $100 million offer on the table at the moment.

At the moment, the Warriors still hold a lot of the power. Unless the Clippers do something drastic for Davis, his avenues to a big payday still rely heavily on general manager Chris Mullin. In theory, renouncing his rights would give the Warriors an even more decidedly upper hand, since they would be one of very few teams that could give him real money (by renouncing, they should be about $19 million under the cap). This could backfire, though, if the impetus behind this move is respect more than money.

Many media members are attributing this opt-out to Baron feeling a lack of love from the team, and renouncing his rights would probably only make that worse. For the team, however, it is the smart choice.

Right now, this team is not built to contend and, unless they get Brand, likely won’t for a few seasons. By then, Davis will be older, in theory creakier, and will probably still be shooting a ton of low percentage shots.

Baron rescued this team from the doldrums of the league and gave fans much joy. Unfortunately, it was bad contracts that made the Dubs a laughingstock in the first place, and a new batch of them could likely send the team back there.

Management needs to look and see if the rift with Davis can be repaired; if not, they need to keep all options open. It pains me to say this, but, as of now, the shrewd move is to let Davis test the market and try to get him back or trade him if he can’t find greener pastures.

It’s not the popular move, but, as of now, it’s the right one.