Baron Davis is not that big of an enigma as people think. Baron is a front runner who likes money. Put Baron on a playoff caliber team and in a contract year and he will be an absolute beast. Put him on a bad team with a fat contract and he will be an unmotivated, lazy, locker room cancer who is also a coach killer.

Let me make this perfectly clear, said in my best Nixon voice, in terms of actual talent and ability there are still not 5 point guards better than Baron Davis in this league and on any given day there aren't any point guards better. That is right all of you CP3 fans, everything Paul can do Baron can do when he wants to and sometimes he does it better.

No one has ever questioned Baron Davis' talent, and neither will I. Frankly, I believe the Knicks just got a steal that could very well have them sipping championship champagne in June. There are those experts who after we sacrificed Billups to get Chandler that said, great move, but because they had to give up Chauncey they will not be able to contend this season. Well Baron Davis is so much better in terms of talent and ability than Billups that he makes Billups look like Chris Duhon. I say that with this caveat, when Davis wants to be. That is actually the bigger question than his back, actually his back issue is not that serious. He will more than likely be able to work out in 3-4 weeks and be ready to actually play in a game in about 6 weeks.

But will Davis be able to turn on the drive to use his talents to their highest level. If he can, then the Knicks are the best team in the east and it will not even be close. Davis not only creates shots for team mates when on his game, he shreds defenses and creates easy shots. And the Miami Heat do not have an answer to guard him. Spoelstra could put Lebron on Rose, because Rose still relies on strength and speed to beat people off the dribble and Lebron is clearly fast enough and strong enough to stay in front of Rose. Davis has an explosive first step, but he is far more adept at using his dribble to set a defender up. He'll get Lebron leaning one way and blow by him on the other. Cleveland last season beat Miami after Davis got there, and it was Davis who took turns clowning one Heat defender after another and either scoring or setting up team mates for easy buckets, that made the difference in the 4th quarter. Now put him on the floor with Carmelo, Amare, Chandler, Shumpert or whomever else D'Antoni wants to put out there and understand how ugly things could get for Miami if Davis is feeling frisky.

The truth is Baron Davis is not just a good point guard, he is an elite one when he wants to be. He is not just an elite point guard, he is an elite player when he wants to be. However will he want to be. Davis is not just a plug in at the point guard spot, the man is a bona fide star when motivated. The Knicks medical staff will have to get him healthy, D'Antoni will have to keep him motivated, and his team mates will have to learn how to play with him. All of that happens and D'Antoni may not just be shooting off his mouth when he says "I believe we can win it all, right now." It is just a question of which Baron Davis did we sign.