Back in September, Baron Davis was thoroughly clowned for being so out-of-shape he landed a big Jenny Craig endorsement. Brett Edwards reported the odd story, in which Davis claimed his summer workout schedule got too light, making the point guard too heavy. Davis said Queen Latifah's endorsement work with Jenny Craig inspired him to jump.Did it come about differently, though? Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News published this thinly sourced item in his Sunday column (via SbB):
The Clippers' Baron Davis is getting paid $250,000 for endorsing a weight-reduction drink. The Clippers privately say that the weight Davis gained to do the endorsement accounted for his slow start. Having signed him to a five-year deal with $62.5 million guaranteed, you can see how they're not very thrilled by that.Did Davis really gain the weight just so he could do the endorsement? If so, the Clippers should be upset. But forgive me for some skepticism on this point. Even if Lawrence were a consistent beacon of impeccable sourcing and accuracy, this item is just a little too thin to take at face value.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-09-2008 @ 11:48AM
RMJ=H said...
Ziller - people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
I mean, everyone over at BDL knows you once ate 19 tacos in one sitting.
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12-09-2008 @ 11:53AM
Dave D. said...
Not only is the story thinly sourced, but it lacks in several degrees of logic. Baron Davis was already criticized for his weight before the endorsement for years, so the story that Jenny Craig is paying for would be there regardless of if he put on additional weight (and it's more Baron Davis' story that's the appeal than the celebrity himself, since Baron is pretty obscure to Jenny Craig's target audience of middle age housewives).
Not only that, but there's likely to be an opt-out clause for Jenny Craig if Baron goes over a certain weight. His incentive is to lose weight (attributable to Jenny Craig, natch), not to gain it. This would allow Jenny Craig to bail if a) Baron Davis goes Elvis, and b) his endorsement doesn't work. Think of it as a personal behavior clause, since a major business doesn't want to be endorsed by someone who appears to be suffering negative effects from its product.
The third most important thing to remember is that Baron Davis' slow start is caused by the difference in his style of play from Dunleavy's preferred style. Extra weight is in no way the problem. Having seen the Clippers play in person and on TV, I can say for sure that bigger problems include: the plays not working, Baron selectively ignoring certain play calling, the team not working together, and players not knowing what the offense is doing within any particular offensive opportunity.
There are most definitely Clippers sources (read: Mike Dunleavy) who have a vested interest in disparaging Baron Davis through the press so that he appears to be the Billy Zane of this sinking ship. It's a shame that anyone's resources are being used to point fingers when this is a team that has the talent in the starting 5 to at least make a run toward respectability (ie, not being a complete laughingstock).
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12-09-2008 @ 4:31PM
giff said...
Dunleavy is LOOOOONG overdue to be gone...he's had talent a plenty come and go through that team and they haven't won ANYTHING to speak of...at what point do they stop blaming the players on this team and simply say, the coach isn't cutting it. Normally I tend to give the coach a break and say players aren't playing up to their salary level but in this case, the length of time he's coached them, plus the fact that many talented players have gone away points to Mike being the problem...get someone else please and not some recycled...below .500 winning pct. coach who just "deserves another shot"....if your record is under .500 for your career and you've coached more than 3 years...another 3 isn't going to help...or get someone completely untried and give him a shot...DOOOO SOMETHING! PS. I'm no fan of BD, I think he's got the AI curse just like Marbury and Francis...Guards who for some reason can't EVER turn a team into a ring bearer...
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