Kyle Hightower
Just before the clock passed midnight this morning to begin the free-agents signing, a trio of the NBA's most prized free agents all found new homes.
L.A. Clippers teammates Corey Maggette and Elton Brand have been on several clubs' wish list over the past two weeks and in the end both wound up in different conferences. After opting out of the final year of his deal with the Clippers, Fox Sports reported late Tuesday that Maggette would officially accept a five-year $50 million deal but stay in-state with Golden State.
Meanwhile, according to theLos Angelese Times, Brand will travel east for a five-year $80 million offering from Philadelphia.
Maggette reportedly drew attention from Boston, San Antonio, Detroit, Utah and Orlando. Golden State apparently offered more money and a longer term than most of Maggette's suitors, who mostly couched their offers at the mid-level salary-cap exception.
NBA free agents: Sixers to sign Elton Brand, Warriors will get Corey Maggette....
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
NBA free agents: Sixers to sign Elton Brand, Warriors will get Corey Maggette
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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....
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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....
