[TimesPicayune] Davis shows he's no leader
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Davis shows he's no leader
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
John DeShazier
Clearly, an apology is in order, but not from Baron Davis or
anyone who speaks on his behalf, thoughtless as their
declarations can come across.
Rather, the offending party is yours truly. I suggested
Davis was turning the corner from petulance to maturity when,
to his credit or defense, Davis never unequivocally has said
or indicated anything of the sort.
Which is a good thing. Because that way, the Hornets' All-Star
guard doesn't have to explain why the 2-year-old Baron keeps
oozing from inside the 25-year-old Baron, throwing tantrums
like he has been told he can't have any more candy or that a
toy belongs to a playmate instead of him.
Through astute observation and research, Davis has concluded
within the last week what everyone else with half a brain has
known for the past six months, that the Hornets' move to the
Western Conference pretty much assures that the franchise won't
win the NBA championship this season. And his frustration over
management's inability to upgrade the roster -- even though
there wasn't salary cap space to sign a big-name free agent or
sufficient trade bait to make feasible a swap for the likes of
Shaq or Tracy McGrady -- boiled over, to the point he's hinting
that he wants out because he doesn't see the Hornets going
anywhere.
His timing is incredible. Davis has gone all summer knowing the
team's shortcomings, but he didn't express his frustration until
a month before training camp?
Maybe it has to do with a new policy the team unveiled last week
saying that no player can bring his personal trainer into the
practice facility during practice time. Trainers could come in
and work with players before and after practice to help with
stretching.
Davis is one of the players who used his trainer this way and
used his trainer to get loose before games instead of using the
team trainer, which now is also not permitted.
A leader would be someone who understands that changes occur when
a team like the Hornets are going through this difficult transition.
Davis has shown he's not a leader. A leader is a maturing veteran
who sees the big picture -- that a team doesn't need its franchise
player, who's supposed to positively influence its young additions,
questioning its chances while it's trying to sell season tickets,
drum up interest and boost the morale of returning players -- Davis
is not a leader.
A kid who has elite athleticism, drop-jaw moves and the rare ability
to make teammates better when so inclined, Davis is. But, sadly,
that's all he is, even though his paycheck and status suggest he
should be more, that by now he should have grown up and started to
behave like a star on and off the court.
And if fans were led to believe that already had happened, the blame
for that lies with people like me. People who took a couple of
perceived selfless acts -- Davis lobbying for and applauding the
hiring of Byron Scott as head coach, his hanging around New Orleans
to help evaluate potential draft picks and his willingness to serve
as the face of the franchise this offseason -- and ran with them,
making a mountain of something that apparently never was that big a
deal for Davis.
Obviously, he isn't the leader the Hornets want him to be now, and
has no intention of being such a player for them in the future if he
has his way and is shipped elsewhere.
Davis isn't on the trading block, General Manager Allan Bristow said.
As best as the Hornets could be reconfigured under salary-cap
constraints, they've been done so to play to his strengths. But
difficult as it would be to evenly acquire talent in a change for
Davis, from where would the tears emanate if he is dealt?
From the teammates he has belittled by saying they aren't good enough
to go anywhere? From the fans he tells he loves, but doesn't want to
play for? From a front office that awarded him a max-money contract
-- $84 million for six years two summers ago -- and brought in a coach
he could respect, only to have him smile in their face and then accuse
them of not trying hard enough to upgrade the team?
And who, in his or her right mind, currently believes Davis possesses
the professionalism to play all-out if he doesn't even have enough of
it to keep his mouth shut until after he sees how this season plays
out? Or to quietly take his concerns to management without publicly
creating waves? Or to accept the responsibility that goes along with
being a franchise player, which sometimes means leading through the
valley of a non-playoff season after having been led over a couple of
peaks during the five playoff years he has been part of?
No one should, that's who.
No one has reason to believe he'll show up for work this season and
play as if unaffected by his desire to bolt, or that he's the kind of
player a franchise needs to build around if he's ready to cut and run
at the first sign of trouble, or that he is any more mature today than
he was the day he entered the NBA.
Davis, we must remember, hasn't said he has grown as a person, only as
a player.
If an assumption was made regarding the latter, that's not his fault.
Anyone looking to assess blame for that is looking at the offending
party, one of several who is guilty of making Davis out to be more than
he wants to be, is willing to be or, perhaps, even is capable of being.
. . . . . . .
John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com or
(504) 826-3410.
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