LEXUS AND L.A. CLIPPER BARON DAVIS DO GOOD FOR UNDERSERVED CHILDREN: CHALLENGES CELEBRITY FRIENDS TO RACE IN THE LEXUS CT 200H

(Los Angeles, CA) February 10, 2011 – Los Angeles Clippers point guard Baron Davis is teaming up with leading luxury automaker Lexus to raise funds for his foundation, Rising Stars of America (RSOA).  On Thursday, February 17^th at 4 p.m., Davis will host The CT 200h Challenge at 1220 S. Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles.  The Challenge will consist of a competitive race in Lexus CT 200h hybrid vehicles driven by Davis and his celebrity friends.

Presently, Davis is challenging fellow celebrities via his Twitter handle, @Baron_ Davis, to race on a specially constructed obstacle course near the Staples Center.  Celebrities from TV, film and sports will compete in the all-new CT 200h to achieve the fastest time.  The winner will receive either a year lease of the CT 200h or have the opportunity to donate the lease of the vehicle to a charity of his or her choice.

The benefit to the RSOA foundation will result from $1,000 awarded to Davis for each celebrity who participates in the competition.  RSOA is a non-profit organization founded in 2004 that utilizes athletics, mentorship and positive role modeling to teach kids life skills as well as ethical and social values.

Celebrities who accept Davis’ challenge will be among the first to drive the all-new Lexus CT 200h.  This sporty hybrid delivers a dynamic, fun-to-drive experience not seen in hybrids before.  With four different drive modes, including Sport, Normal, ECO and an all-electric EV mode, the CT offers true personalization of the driving experience.  While it features Lexus luxury throughout, it also leads the luxury class in fuel economy with a 42 mpg city/highway combined rating.  

The CT 200h Challenge is open to the public. Live music will be played by DJ Skee and an assortment of Twitter-based food trucks including The Komodo and Sweets will be on hand.  For more information please visit www.facebook.com/Lexus and click on the CT 200h tab.

Going 1-on-1 With Baron Davis

Coming into this Clippers season, there were two questions fans were constantly asking and they usually came in the following order:

1)  How’s Blake’s knee?

2)  How’s Baron’s attitude?

If you saw Blake Griffin play in any preseason games this month, then you already know the answer to No. 1.  He’s definitely 100% healthy and ready to go.

As far as No. 2 goes, however, that one may not be as easy to answer with any confidence.  Since training camp opened, Baron Davis seemed to be saying and doing all the right things, except for that little issue with his conditioning, or lack thereof.

Regardless though of what Davis was saying to the media, I wanted to talk to him face-to-face and away from other reporters to get a true sense of his emotions going into this season.

Here’s part of that conversation.  Judge for yourself.

foxsportswest.com:  Going 1-on-1 With Baron Davis
 

Blake Griffin Is Ready To Go

I went to the Clippers practice facility earlier this week to do a 1-on-1 interview with Blake Griffin--a.k.a the #1 question mark going into the Clippers upcoming season.

Griffin's road to recovery from mid-season knee surgery has been pretty much right on-course since he woke up from the anesthesia.  He's been running for months.  He took part in the team's Summer League practices, although he did not play in any of the games.  Basically, everything pointed to him being 100% in time for the start of training camp at the end of this month.

Well, I have news for you after witnessing some pickup games the other day.  If Blake Griffin is not 100% recovered from that knee injury right now, then I don't know what 100% looks like.

Not only was he running with a limp or a brace, but the explosion we all witnessed during his two years at Oklahoma and in those handful of preseason games last year seems to be the same as it was before the surgery.  I didn't see all of the pickup games, but he had at least 4 rim-shattering dunks while I was there, including one that started as face-up post on DeAndre Jordan and ended with a face-at-rim-level, one-handed punch.  DeAndre may still be looking for Blake after getting shook with that spin move.

During my interview with Griffin after the pickup games, we discussed a number of topics relative to him personally and the team as a whole.  You can watch parts of that interview in the video section on foxsportswest.com.

One of the subjects I was most interested in was what Griffin thought of his new head coach.  He told me that he actually knew more about Vinny Del Negro as a player rather than a coach--makes sense considering Del Negro played 12 NBA seasons while coaching for only two years in Chicago.

Griffin said that three early impressions of Del Negro stand out to him before training camp has even started.  1) He puts a high priority on player development.  2) He wants the team to get out and run.  3) He doesn't "over coach" (in other words, Del Negro may be the complete opposite of Mike Dunleavy).

So with Griffin fully healthy and Del Negro making quite the first impression on the franchise player, everything points towards a good start to training camp--something the team hasn't had since 2005 (Sam Cassell's first year with the team).  However, even with that being said, the Clippers still have several other question marks to answer as training camp and the season progress, including but not limited to, 1) How will Baron Davis fit in with the new coach and system?  2) How did the Team USA experience affect Eric Gordon?  3)  Can Chris Kaman back up his All-Star season with another one?

We should start to find out some of those answers when training camp opens September 28th.

Next Year Starts Now For The Clippers

When Mike Dunleavy resigned as head coach of the Clippers in February, the fans pretty much took that move as an indication that the season was lost.  A season that started with so much promise and hope had turned into yet another injury-riddled disappointment.

Once again, it’s all about next year for the Clippers.
 
Well, here’s a news flash for the fans and the organization.  Next year starts now for the Clippers.  I’ve always been a huge fan of the phrase: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”  Simplistic in its nature, yet so clairvoyant.
 
Everyone has thought about ways to improve themselves in order to have a more satisfying future.  I’m going to lose weight.  I’m going back to college.  I’m going to save more money. But instead of jumping on those ideas right away, most of us have a tendency to put things off.  A great idea will still be a great idea in two days, right?  Of course, but the problem becomes when those days turn into weeks, months and then years.
 
There’s never a better time than right this very minute to start improving aspects of your life for the betterment of your future.

foxsportswest.com:  Next Year Starts Now For The Clippers 

Baron Being Baron in NYC

Has anyone seen this video of Baron Davis dribbling through the streets of New York? If you've ever wanted a better idea of Baron's personality, check it out. This is truly an example of Baron being Baron.

Baron Davis Writes An Open Letter To Clipper Fans

I can't count how many times people have asked me--either during the season or since it's ended--about the Clippers, and the questions are rarely posed in positive terms.

What's wrong with the Clippers? Are they always going to be this bad? Why didn't they fire Dunleavy?

On and on it goes. Sometimes I have answers. Sometimes I don't. Either way, the fans usually go away still feeling frustrated.

If you really think about how the season played out, you can place a portion of the blame on just about everybody. Players. Coaches. Management. They would all tell you they fell well short of their own expectations this past season. However, they all would also tell you that next season should be different.

The latest to voice that sentiment publicly is Baron Davis. He recently posted "A letter to the Fans" on his blog. Here's an excerpt.

"I want to make sure you know that EVERYONE at the Clippers is committed to doing whatever is necessary to make sure that you don’t have to deal with another year like the one that just ended. I’m dedicating myself to that goal, and I know my teammates will do the same."

"There are probably those who will read this and toss it off as just words, but I can only write these words with hope that the feeling and sentiment is conveyed."

Whether you are one of those people who will toss that statement off as just words or you are some of the die-hards who truly believe what Baron wrote, you have to give him credit for recognizing the fans frustration and vowing to do something about it.

Let's just hope he and his teammates actually back up those words next season though, because until they do, it will be just talk.

"Bring BD Back" Campaign Has Begun In The Bay Area

If you are looking for some pretty entertaining reading, check out my boy Marcus Thompson's article in today's Contra Costa Times.

Evidently, while the Warriors were hanging out in LA before their matchup with the Lakers, Golden State's
Stephen Jackson got the chance to hang out with his former teammate and best friend Baron Davis.

And guess what topic dominated their conversations: Davis going back to the Warriors!

"That's all we talked about," Jackson said. "I went to his house, spent some time with his mom and his grandmother. He wants to come back. And if he wants to come back, I want him back."

Seriously, how funny would that be?

After all the posturing and back-and-forth this past summer between the Clippers and the Warriors (don't forget, LA also signed Kelenna Azubuike to an offer sheet that GS eventually matched), the two teams would then turn around and orchestrate basically a "do over". It would be the ultimate ironies of ironies.

But don't start counting your contract swaps just yet. The reasons why this move is so unlikely to happen are numerous, if not infinite. They are, at the very least, too numerous to list here. Plus, most of them are so obvious, it would actually be a waste of time, but the story still makes for a great read!

Warriors' Jackson captains 'Bring Back Baron' movement

More Of The Same For The Clippers

The Clippers swallowed yet another tough loss last night. The opponent was new, but not the cause.

The 4th quarter was once again LA's downfall.

After a buzzer-beating 3-point heave by Baron Davis gave the Clippers a 9-point at the end of the 3rd frame, Orlando preceded to open the final period with a 10-0 run to regain the lead, and then held Mike Dunleavy's squad to just 13 points over the final 12 minutes.

We haven't seen such a quick and definitive turnaround since Joe Lieberman.

Figuring out the problem is not the issue, it's the solution that is being so evasive. But if an answer is not discovered real soon, the Clippers could be headed for an even faster downward spiral.

"The Clippers have had a lot of these games where they've been right there and been ahead in the fourth, then had some trouble down the stretch," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I've had teams that went through that, and it sort of gets in your mind a little bit, too."

It's already in the minds of the fans, who were heard outside our Clippers Live studio last night chanting "Fire Dunleavy!"

Clipper Nation has also been blowing up my mailboxes asking why Dunleavy continues to retain his job even though four other coaches with similar or better records have already been let go.

The Clippers head coach is fully aware of the fans' diminishing patience, but the man, who also serves as the team's general manager, doesn't believe his job is in any immediate jeopardy.

"I don't think that's the case," Dunleavy said. "I think we're headed in the right direction. I think we've got a good group. We haven't had our whole group together all season, or in the preseason."

I can already hear all of your sarcastic rumblings after reading that explanation. True, every team deals with injuries, however, I don't think that defense is necessarily a cop out on Dunleavy's part.

Four players from his 8-man rotation have been injured and unable to practice and/or play at some point either during training camp or the regular season. And that's not even counting Tim Thomas, who was traded to the Knicks in the Zach Randolph deal.

In fact, at no point this season, has Dunleavy had his entire allotment of players healthy for a stretch of 5-games or more. Tough to build chemistry that way on a team featuring nine new players.

"Here's what I think this franchise needs the most," said the GM/coach. "We need to win a lot of games in a stretch, let fans recognize a group of players they can count on, and show everyone just how good we can be when everyone is on the court."

That responsibility, ultimately, falls squarely on the shoulders of the head coach, and no matter how good and truthful the excuses, even those run out eventually.

Clippers Media Day

Clippers Media Day seemed to have even more optimism than in most years. Maybe it was because there are so many new players on the team (10 total), that not enough of them have firsthand knowledge of the most recent disappointments.

The first thing that stood out to me today was the team's practice facility. It is simply spectacular. Mike Dunleavy even went as far to tell me that "It's the best in the league." I personally haven't seen every NBA team's practice facility, so I guess I will have to take his word for it. However, on first impression, I think it would be hard to prove Dunleavy wrong.

I talked to Dunleavy for several minutes as he signed what appeared to be about 300+ brand new balls for sponsors and season ticket holders. The first thing I asked him pertained to his expectations for the season. With so many new players, I would think he would need about 15-20 games just to see what he really has. However, Dunleavy believes this team should be an even better defensive team than the one that a couple of years ago was among the tops in the league.

He wouldn't say for sure that he had a playoff team on his hands, but he did say he would be very surprised if they were not in playoff contention all the way through April.

You can also expect this team to get up and down the floor a lot more than in season's past. Dunleavy tried to implement that strategy last season, but he said he didn't really have the personnel to carry it throughout the season. This season, however, is different because that style of play not only suits Baron Davis, but the Clippers have more finishers in transition in Cuttino Mobley, Al Thornton, and Ricky Davis.

Speaking of Baron Davis, he was the life of the party today. And believe me when I say, if there's one thing a media day needs, it's some life. Basically, the guys are paraded from station to station taking pictures and reciting lines into cameras. Davis was bouncing around like it was the first day of school. One other observation: he's in GREAT shape. He told me that he spent all summer working out in Las Vegas to get ready for the season. And considering how much the Clippers season is relying on his health, that was a great idea.

Marcus Camby told me that he is officially over the shock of getting traded from the Nuggets to the Clippers, and he's looking forward to starting a new chapter in his NBA career--one that includes 4 different teams. Camby was also very optimistic about the team's chances, but still wanted to hold off on making any proclamations until the team at least went through a full training camp.

And believe it or not, despite the loss of Elton Brand and Corey Maggette and the addition of 10 new players on the roster, one Clipper official told me that the team will actually be more competitive than if the team had retained Brand and Maggette and paired them with Davis. The thought being that not only will the team have more scoring options, especially from the perimeter, but that the locker room will be better as well.

For as great a player and person EB is, he is simply not very vocal in the locker room. Those in the organization believe that if Brand had spoken up at different times in the past, the team would have had greater success. Now, I don't feel as if the Clippers blame Brand for their recent disappointments, but the idea is that the team's best and highest paid player should be as much of a leader in the locker room as he is on the court.

For those of you wondering what happened to Shaun Livingston, here's the deal. The Clippers actually offered him a guaranteed 2-year contract, with a player option for the second year. However, Livingston and his agent thought they could get more money from another team (Portland had been the rumored destination). But as we enter NBA training camp, Livingston is faced with having to earn a roster spot.

And another issue for Livingston will be the loss of his Larry Bird Rights. The simplest explanation is this: If Livingston had signed with the Clippers this season and they traded him, they would have traded his Bird rights as well. But without those Bird Rights, the most Livingston could sign for would be $5 million a year as opposed to $11 million if he had retained his Bird Rights. And to remind you of how valuable a player's Bird Rights are, think back to when Devean George would not give up his Bird Rights when the Mavericks were trying to make the trade for Jason Kidd.

Quinton Ross also turned down a guaranteed deal because he and his agent believed they could secure more money. When that money did not surface, Q was forced to take a non-guaranteed deal with the Grizzlies and go to camp playing for a roster spot yet again.

The Clippers open the season Wednesday, October 29th against the Lakers.

Azubuike Almost A Lock To Be A Clipper

In the wake of what possibly could have turned into the worst off-season in the history of the team, the Clippers seem to be responding quite well. First, they basically robbed Denver for Marcus Camby, and now it appears that Kelenna Azubuike will wear red, white and blue next season.

My friend Brad Turner of the Riverside Press-Enterprise is reporting that two NBA sources believe the Warriors will not match the 3-year, $9.3 million dollar offer sheet Azubuike signed with the Clippers. It seems as though the price is too high now that Golden State has signed Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf and Maurice Evans, not to mention the trade for Marcus Williams from the Nets.

So with a potential starting lineup of Baron Davis, Cuttino Mobley, Al Thornton, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman and a bench consisting of Tim Thomas, Brevin Knight, Eric Gordon and Azubuike, the Clippers might not be as bad as first believed.

Clippers Lure Baron Davis To LA, Hope Elton Brand Stays

In his obviously predetermined post-game interview outburst at the NBA Finals, Kevin Garnett shouted, "Anything is possible!" Something I've always believed, long before Adidas started using it to sell shoes. And if you ever needed further proof of that idea, all you had to do was hear the news of the Clippers agreeing to a free agent contract with Baron Davis.

Let's be real. Moves like this one don't usually happen for the Clippers. They happen to the Clippers. To put it simply, this is the biggest free agent coup in the history of the Donald T. Sterling era. Davis is a bonafide star in the NBA, a proven playoff performer, and someone who gives the Clippers more than just hope, but an actual chance to do great things.

However, that chance is only possible if Elton Brand re-signs with the Clippers, which was a foregone conclusion once Davis agreed to come on board. That was until the Warriors, fresh with new cap space, threw a max deal offer towards EB. Say what you will about Brand should do, but have you ever had to make a decision that would mean walking away from $20 million?

I have not talked to EB since the Warriors offered him $90 million, but those who have spoken to him recently believe he will remain with the Clippers, and so do I. Not only does he have several interests off the floor here in Los Angeles, but he and his wife Shahara are expecting their first child shortly. So with a fresh baby room awaiting its first tenant, it would be hard for Daddy Brand to bolt town for the Bay Area, don't you think?

UPDATE: You should expect some type of definite answer from Brand in the next 24-48 hours. And from what I'm hearing, EB will re-sign with the Clippers for all the reasons I mentioned above and for another one. Next season's salary cap is expected to be $59 million. If that is indeed the case, the Clippers could actually offer Brand a contract possibly in the $80-85 million range, which would be much closer to the Warriors offer of around $90 million. And don't forget, the Clippers are the only team that can offer Brand a 6-year deal. The maximum contract length available to everyone else is only five years. If you remember, that extra year was one of the main reasons Kobe Bryant stayed with the Lakers several years ago instead of jumping ship to the Clippers.