Baron Davis says he is a changed man, humbled by the joyous spirit that rose above the squalor of the slums of India he toured during a summer of inner discovery. He says the Clippers will be a new team: his. He says they just gained another assistant coach.
Some people had an offseason. Davis had an awakening.
He traveled to China, he traveled to India, he found himself. Of course he did. Davis is emotional and dramatic, beaming through the good times and scowling through the bad, often in full view, and he got the blunt-force sights that can make a man with a fortune pause. He witnessed despair that went beyond anything he saw growing up in South Central L.A. That's quite a personal impact.
The new Baron will be different. That's the perspective from his travels.
"India," Davis said. "You look at the people in a different class structure, you're in a country where it's almost like a Third World country, but the people are so great. They're so happy. They're safe, they're happy. It was just a great overall experience."
The new Baron will be more of a leader. That's the promise from his summer.
"I really feel like it's my team this year," he said.
It wasn't last year?
"No," Davis said. "I was trying to fit in and trying to figure it out. But it's my team this year."
The new Baron will be a mentor. That's the other thing about India.
Davis did some coaching there as part of the clinics and he liked it. Heading into the season, he wants to "spend more time with the coaches, figuring out what they want. Spend more time with the players, the younger guys, helping them."
More time with Dunleavy.
What could possibly go wrong?
"I'm embracing it, I'm loving it," the 30-year-old Davis said. "I'm young enough to still dominate and I think I'm in a good place in my life and my basketball career.
"I like the coaching because it helps me understand my game as well. Coaching is definitely something I probably want to get into when my career is over."
Scott Howard-Cooper, Sports Illustrated
