And the crazy ride continues. A few hours ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers agreed in principle to a trade that would send Baron Davis and the Clippers’ 2011 first-round draft pick to Cleveland in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. Cleveland now has two projected top-ten picks in the upcoming draft, which could end up paying dividends. From ESPN:
“The deal saves the Clippers considerable money the next two seasons while giving them a younger point guard who made the All-Star team while playing with LeBron James. Davis is still owed nearly $28 million over the next two seasons and the balance of his $13 million contract this year. Moon’s contract expires after this season. Williams is owed the balance of his $9.3 million salary this season and, with player options of $8.5 million for each of the next two years, potentially could get out of his contract altogether. The savings should give the Clippers more flexibility in free agency the next two seasons. The Clippers would give up a likely top-10 lottery pick to make the savings happen. ‘That just shows you how much we hate this draft,’ one Clippers source told ESPN.com. But the lottery pick from the Clippers was exactly what the Cavs were after. A Cavs source told ESPN.com that the trade was made primarily for the draft pick. ‘We know we’re going to have to build this team through the lottery,’ the source said. ‘We hope Baron works out, but our primary focus was the pick. We really wanted two top-10 picks to infuse the team with young talent.’ In Davis, the Cavs would get a veteran who, when he’s engaged, is one of the top point guards in the league. But will Davis be engaged on a team with the worst record in the NBA?”
