Baron Davis, the starting point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, has missed the last two games. He’s dealing both stomach ulcers and a strained calf. The ulcers have been a reoccurring problem throughout Davis’ NBA career.

Despite missing time, Davis is hopeful he can return to the Clippers lineup on Wednesday against the New Orleans Hornets. He’s taking medication for his ulcers and is resting his calf strain.

If you’ve had Davis on your fantasy basketball team this year, you’ve undoubtedly been thoroughly disappointed. He’s averaging a nine-year low in points per game at 15.4 and a career-low shooting percentage of 36.9%. The only silver lining of his season is that his assists are slightly up from last year.

Considering that the Clippers are trying to gather as many ping pong balls as possible for the 2009 NBA Draft, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him miss most of the rest of the season. Before you stick him back into your fantasy lineup, be sure he’s active.

If you are looking for a replacement on the Clippers, consider rookie Mike Taylor. In his last three outings, Taylor has been very impressive. After setting a new career-high with 35 points against the New York Knicks, Taylor followed that up with 23 points against the San Antonio Spurs. If you need to sub out Davis, consider picking up Taylor off of the waiver wire.

If you want to know what type of athlete Taylor is, check out this amazing Mike Taylor dunk video:

According to Stephen Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, Baron Davis would more than welcome a trade back to the Warriors. Davis, who signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in the offseason, has reportedly had issues with head coach Mike Dunleavy’s offense.

While Davis was quick to shoot down Jackson’s remarks, there are a ton of fantasy basketball owners who would be all for the trade. With the Clippers, Davis hasn’t been much of a fantasy player this year. He’s averaging four less points, less steals, less rebounds and he’s shooting 36.1% from the field and 29.4% from beyond the three-point arc. The only good news is that his assists are slightly up while his turnovers are slightly down.

If you have Davis on your fantasy team, the best thing to do is wait it out. His field goal percentage is going to improve as he gets comfortable in Dunleavy’s offense. There’s also a chance that his assists will continue to improve if Davis becomes the distributor that Dunleavy wants him to be.

Obviously, a trade back to the Warriors would be great for his fantasy stats. However, that rumor appears to be dead and Davis appears locked into a Clippers uniform for the foreseeable future.

Photo credit: Newscom

Jason Williams, who is known perhaps more by his nickname of White Chocolate, has signed a contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. Williams has spent the last few seasons with the Miami Heat, where he was a part of the 2005-06 NBA champions.

With the Clippers, Williams will give the team a very capable backup point guard. With Baron Davis as the starter, there’s a pretty good chance that Williams will get some starts considering Davis’ injury history.

Going into the 2008-09 NBA season, Williams is no longer a draftable player in fantasy basketball. However, if something is to happen to Davis and Williams is thrust back into a starting role, he has proven to be capable in the last few years.

Here is a video of White Chocolate in action:

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Check out this interesting video of Baron Davis and Steve Nash. I haven’t quite figured out the purpose of the video, other than to pimp iBeatYou.com.

You gotta hand it to Steve Nash though because he can dance. If that whole basketball thing doesn’t end up working out, he may have found a second career.

Here is the Step Brothers video of Baron Davis and Steve Nash:

Monta Ellis re-signed with the Golden State Warriors on Thursday for a deal that is believed to be worth $67 million over six years. Ellis has gone from a second round pick to one of the most exciting guards in the NBA.

With Baron Davis signing with the Los Angeles Clippers, Ellis will likely shift over to point guard for the Warriors. If Ellis plays big minutes and is able to up his assists, he could be a top flight fantasy basketball player for the 2008-09 season. However, be sure to see how he transitions to point guard. It’s a lot easier to play shooting guard next to Davis than to lead the show.

If Ellis is able to make a successful transition to point guard, he’s a player who could average 20 points and six assists per night. His stats would be comparable to Tony Parker with more rebounds and more steals.

Monta Ellis, Golden State Warriors

Photo: Newscom

According to multiple reports, the San Antonio Spurs are in the lead when it comes to possibly signing Corey Maggette. Maggette, formerly of the Los Angeles Clippers, has generated a huge amount of interest around the NBA.

Since the Clippers are signing Baron Davis, that leaves Maggette without a home. Along with the San Antonio Spurs, other teams that have shown interest include the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic. The Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors have enough cap room to offer Maggette more money than the Spurs.

While it’s far from a sure thing, Maggette would be a great addition for the Spurs. During the 2007-08 season, the Spurs routinely had trouble scoring the ball. Maggette is a very good scorer and is also a player who gets to the line a whole lot. Bringing those skills to San Antonio would make him a fantastic addition.

Fantasy basketball wise, Maggette’s stats would likely go down while with the Spurs. He’d probably start and play a healthy amount of minutes, but he’ll have to share touches with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.

I’m not sure if the Los Angeles Clippers fan was a factor in wooing Baron Davis to LA, but he certainly gave it his best shot. Look at the end of this entry for the Clippers fan video asking Davis to return to Los Angeles.

The big news of NBA free agency so far is Baron Davis signing with the Los Angeles Clippers — as we speculated when Davis opted out. After spending several highly successful seasons with the Golden State Warriors, Davis opted out of his contract and switched over to another Californian team. With the Clippers, Davis is expected to team with Elton Brand to create a formidable one-two punch.

While this is good news for the Clippers, fantasy basketball owners shouldn’t be as giddy. Davis put up great fantasy stats in Golden State, however he was in a very fantasy friendly system. The Clippers usually play a slow-paced game and Davis will have to share the ball with Brand. He should still be a good point guard in the fantasy world but likely not as good as he’s been in the last few seasons.

Baron Davis opted out of his last year of his contract with the Golden State Warriors to become a free agent. His final year of his contract would have paid him around $17 million.

Davis opting out is somewhat of a surprise. Most experts thought Davis would collect the final year of his deal before hitting the open market next summer. Apparently, Davis has other ideas.

The most likely destination for Davis next year remains the Warriors. Golden State can pay him a lot of money and he has thrived in Golden State. That said, there is growing talk about Davis’ unhappiness in Golden State — specifically concerning his relationship with head coach Don Nelson.

If Davis leaves the Warriors, expect him to go to a big market team. The Los Angeles Clippers could come knocking and try to bring back the former UCLA Bruins player. Another team that could go after Davis is the New York Knicks. The Knicks don’t have a quality point guard and new head coach Mike D’Antoni would love to get his hands on a player with Davis’ talents.

Don Nelson, Mr. Run-and-Gun himself, is returning to coach the Golden State Warriors in the 2008-09 NBA season. Nelson had previously contemplated retirement but he has decided to coach at least one more year.

Nelson is a fantasy owner’s dream. He doesn’t care much about defense or playing big, plodding centers. Instead, Nelson is all about scoring. He’ll put five perimeter players on the court if he thinks it will give him the best chance to win.

If Nelson were to retire, that would have had a negative impact on the fantasy stock of all the players on the Warriors. However, with him coming back, there really shouldn’t be a change in the value of any of the players. You can expect more of the same that we saw last season.

Baron Davis could potentially opt out of his contract this summer but he’s due approximately $17 million for next season and will most likely return. The Warriors, who missed out on the playoffs despite having a winning record, will aim to return to the 2009 playoffs in what could possibly be Nellie’s last season as coach.

Photo: Newscom

With the fantasy basketball season now over, let’s review which point guards separated themselves from the pack. Who were the best fantasy point guards in 2008? Let’s take a look.

5) Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
Increasingly getting better each season, Deron Williams should remain a top fantasy point guard for many seasons to come. He can score, he can pass, he can shoot and every aspect of his game keeps getting better and better.

4) Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
When it comes to passing, few in the history of the game have been better than Nash. However, Nash’s shooting in recent years may be even more impressive. His percentages were simply unreal this season.

3) Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons
Although he doesn’t have much flash in his game anymore, Chauncey Billups is still a very, very solid point guard. He’s a big, thick guard who knows how to play the game. In just about every facet, Billups can help you in fantasy basketball.

2) Baron Davis, Golden State Warriors
After a 2007 playoff run that excited the basketball world, Baron Davis built on that to have a very good season this year. He remained healthy and was a fantasy beast for much of the season.

1) Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Not only was Paul easily the best point guard in 2008, he was easily the best overall fantasy basketball player this year. He’s a superstar who has room to get even better.

Check out this new commerical featuring Chris Paul and Dwight Howard: