Baron Davis leaving Warriors for Clippers

By Geoff Lepper
Bay Area News Group

In 14 months, the Warriors have gone from being the toast of the league to just another NBA club in search of an identity.

Point guard Baron Davis - the heart and soul of a squad that in May 2007 became the first No. 8 playoff seed to knock off a No. 1 in a seven-game series - agreed in principle to a five-year contract worth a reported $65 million with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Davis will leave the Warriors after 3 1/2 seasons in which he helped return them to relevance and led that stunning playoff victory over the Dallas Mavericks but was unable to push Golden State into the Western Conference's upper echelon.

"It's tough, but you have to do what's best," Davis said Tuesday evening at a San Francisco screening of "Made in America," a documentary he produced about gang life in Los Angeles. "You just have to do what's fair. I'm happy with where I'm going."

Baron Davis leaving Warriors for Clippers....

Artest stays; Davis opts out

By BEE NEWS SERVICES

Ron Artest will remain in Sacramento, but Baron Davis may be history in Oakland.

Artest remained with the Kings on Monday, when the deadline passed for the small forward to opt out of the final season of his contract and take his skills to free agency.

Davis, meanwhile, elected to become a free agent, opting out of the final year of his contract with the Warriors in a surprise move.

The Warriors didn't expect Davis to opt out of the $17.8 million deal in the final year of a six-year contract, despite little progress in the parties' long-term negotiation, but club spokesman Raymond Ridder said they received a letter from Davis' agent, Todd Ramasar, late Monday indicating his intention.

Artest stays; Davis opts out....