Baron Davis: “Dear Fans”

Contrary to conventional wisdom, sometimes love does mean having to say you're sorry.

Well, at least something that sort of approximates I'm sorry.

In today's entry of his blog, Baron Davis offered Clippers fans one such approximation in the form of an open letter.  Baron thanked them for their undying support through "a very difficult season."  (Translation: Sorry for stinking.)  Baron went on to say:

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.

In order to give his post the necessary gravitas, Baron opens with an old Chinese proverb (there is nothing like a Chinese proverb to aid in one's quest for gravitas): "Words are just words and without heart they have no meaning."  In his effort to assure fans that his letter does not fall into the meaningless category, Baron adds, "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."

Baron's most recent blog comes at the end of a miserable — in every sense of the word — season for him.  It was a season of discontent that actually began last off-season, when he became on of the most coveted free-agents and was seduced by his now (former) good friend, Elton Brand, to join Brand on the Clippers.  Bizarrely, as Baron was pulling into LA, Brand was shipping himself out, signing his own free-agent deal with the 76er's and abandoning Baron.  Instead of turning around the franchise, the franchise turned around Baron, who played played almost from the start as if he couldn't wait for it all to end.

Baron's hard to read.  Not his blog, his being — something that was revealed in a terrific piece that Bill Simmons, ESPN's "The Sports Guy," (and a masochistic season-ticket holder to the Clips) posted after spending time with Baron, on the NBA's trade-deadline day, no less:

"Look, if this is the adversity we have to go through to be a good team," Baron says, "I'll do it." He keeps talking about next year. As a paying customer, part of me wants to scream, "Baron, this all sounds fine, but I still have 14 home games left this season! Get your act together now!" The other part just feels bad for him. Yes, incredibly, I feel sorry for someone who's guaranteed $65 million during the worst economic crisis in 80 years. The guy just wanted to come home and win a title with a friend. He didn't ask for any of the other crap. This is why I never like to spend time with athletes. Will I defend Baron the next time someone rips him? Did a single breakfast turn me into the "Leave Britney Alone!" guy on YouTube?

Simmon's answer leaves us on the fence.

As does Baron's post.